The Rise of Black Codes in the South

• The Rise of Black Codes in the South

In late 1865, the years after the U.S. Civil War took a sharp turn when lawmakers in Mississippi introduced rules that restricted the movement and rights of newly freed Black Americans. These measures, later called Black Codes, inspired similar laws across the South. Although slavery had been abolished, these policies pushed many freed people back into low-paid or unpaid labor.

The new rules required Black workers to sign yearly job contracts. Anyone who could not show proof of employment could be detained, fined, or forced into work they did not choose. This system made arrests profitable for local officials and allowed landowners to maintain tight control over the labor force.

At this time, President Andrew Johnson who took office after Abraham Lincoln’s death in 1865 supported a very forgiving plan for reuniting the nation. He favored strong state control and resisted federal protections for formerly enslaved people. His approach opened the door for Southern states to pass restrictive laws and fueled the rise of extremist groups during early Reconstruction. Johnson later became the first U.S. president to be impeached.

Before his death, Lincoln had begun pushing for limited voting rights for Black men, marking a major shift in national policy. After he was assassinated, Reconstruction fell under Johnson’s leadership. His lenient policies gave former Confederate states broad freedom to write their own laws. Under this environment, Mississippi and South Carolina became the first to adopt the Black Codes, with other states following quickly.

Key examples of these restrictions included:

Requiring written proof of employment

Allowing employers to take wages if a worker left before the contract ended

Penalizing “vagrancy,” which could lead to forced labor

Limiting the types of property Black residents could own

Punishing anyone who tried to hire a Black worker already under contract

These laws alarmed many in Congress. In response, Republican lawmakers passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and overturned Johnson’s veto. They soon took full control of Reconstruction. Under the Reconstruction Act of 1867, Southern states had to approve the 14th Amendment, which promised equal protection under the Constitution. The 15th Amendment, adopted in 1870, protected the right to vote regardless of race or previous condition of servitude.

During the era known as Radical Reconstruction (1867–1877), Black men won seats in state and local governments across the South. Political participation expanded briefly, and federal officials worked to enforce civil rights.

However, resistance grew. White supremacist groups used intimidation to weaken support for these reforms. By the mid-1870s, national interest in Reconstruction was fading. When federal troops withdrew from the South in 1877, many gains collapsed. Soon after, states built a new system of segregation later known as Jim Crow that reused many features of the Black Codes. This system remained in place for generations until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.