Black People and Civil War Essay

The civil war ended in 1865 May 10 when the confederates surrendered to the union. After the civil war was over all of the slaves became free. They were call freedman. In some states they were not one hundred percent free though. Even though the slaves became free white people still did not like them and they were very racist to them. In Mississippi they had black codes which restricted blacks to do many things. How did whites attempt to reimpose bondage on their former slaves? The African Amercian’s were not allowed to rent or lease land and if they did they would be sued. The African Americans were not allowed to marry white people. If they did they would be guilty of felony and be sentenced to state jail for life. Whites still needed some labor help so they offered blacks to do some labor work and they would be payed. If the blacks were hired to work longer than a month then both the worker and the owner would have to have a written contract. If the worker quit before the contract was over without a good cause then the worker would have give back all of the money they got payed from the owner which is awful because blacks could get injured and the owner would not care and want the money they payed them back. Even if it was one day before the contract was over, but the owner would have really cruel to have done that. If the worker violated the contract than any white can arrest him and bring the black to jail. Blacks that were under the age of eighteen that did not have parents to provide and take care of them then the original owner can take the minor into their home and be their legal guardian. The owner was not allowed to give the minor cruel punishment. If whites see blacks who don’t come to work, get drunk in public, leave families, or misuse their money earned then they can be fined one hundred dollars and will have to go to jail no longer than ten days. If whites caught blacks over the age of eighteen living with whites or if they don’t have a job then the blacks would be fined fifty dollars and go to jail no more than ten days. The whites would be fined two hundred dollars and they would have to go to jail no less then six months. Blacks got the better deal off of that law, but the meaning was really hurtful to the blacks because the white people would get more in trouble then the black people would. It was like saying they hate blacks, but they hated the whites who liked the blacks more. Blacks were not even allowed to have weapons unless they were in the military, not even a knife. Everyone should have the right to protect their selves and their family. They needed the weapons especially because they just became free and many white people were angry that they became free and may try to harm them. On the bright side it kept them away from revenge on their master or any other enemies. If blacks disturbed the whites in any way from language to violence, trespassing, selling liquor without a license, being a minister of a church without a license, or cruel treatment to animals can be fined ten to one hundred dollars depending on the crime and serving ten to thirty days in jail. This law can be abused and white people could get the blacks in trouble because no one would know if the white people actually felt disturbed they could have been getting them in trouble because they were racist. Where whites successful to reimpose bondage on their former slaves? Yes, whites were very successful. Even though the blacks were free they took away many rights from them. They also made it impossible for blacks not to get into trouble. Abram Colby was beaten by members of the Klu Klux Klan on October 29, 1869. They took him to the woods and whipped him for three hours. The members of the Klu Klux Klan left him there and thought he died. In 1872 he was asked to testify in Washington and he did. He told them the whole story and the the members of the Klu Klux Klan were a lawyer, doctor, and farmers. The Klu Klux Klan killed many blacks during the time. Most of the time they got away with it because the leaders of the Klu Klux Klan were a bunch of high powered white people that were sheriffs,lawyers, and doctors. Where the freed slaves actually free? Overall they were free from slavery, but whites got every single chance they did to get the blacks in trouble with the law. Laws that were very strict that whites could not even abide by them, which was hypocritical. They pretty much took away their chances of becoming successful. The blacks were free from being someones slave. They were not as free as the whites were. Works Cited . N. p.. Web. 5 Feb 2014. . Sterling, D. .