Essay --

After the Civil War conditions were bad for both Southern blacks and Southern whites. There were 4 million black men and women emerging from bondage. They began forming all black communities, freeing themselves from white control. But in 1865, Southern state legislatures began enacting sets of laws called Black Codes. These laws authorized local officials to apprehend unemployed blacks, fine them for vagrancy and hire them out to private employers to satisfy their fine. Some codes allowed blacks to only take jobs as plantation workers or servants. The South found a way to go back to slavery without breaking the new laws. In 1866, Congress passed the first Civil Rights Act, which declared blacks as citizens of the United States which allowed the federal government to intervene in state affairs when necessary to protect the rights of the citizens. Then in June of 1866, Congress approved the 14th Amendment which states that everyone born in the United States, and everyone naturalized was automatically a citizen and entitled to equal protection by both state and national government. Even though slavery was abolished and blacks were, at least by law, free and considered equal, they still did not have the same rights and opportunities as white people. In February of 1869, Congress passed the 15th Amendment. The Amendment attempts to ensure black voting rights by stipulating that voting rights cannot be denied on the basis of race, color, or previous servitude. But yet it did nothing to allow the Southern whites to prevent blacks from voting. Since blacks were not educated and did not own property or have the money to pay poll taxes it made it almost impossible for blacks to vote. There was a dramatic improvement in south... ...freedom was granted to the slaves, they were no longer property and therefore no longer worth anything to the former slave owners. In every which way the South tried to get back to the ways of slavery. Blacks also faced the dark problem of hate crimes and white supremacy. Blacks never actually gained their freedom for years to come. Freedom is the lack of restrictions, but blacks were still being told what they can and cannot do or where they can and cannot go. The law stated that blacks were allowed to vote but made it almost impossible for them to actually do so. The blacks were given land then had it taken away from them when the whites who abandoned that land came back to claim it. It was a struggle for a former slave to begin an actual life for them or their families. Blacks were not given the opportunities and the chance at the new life that they were promised. Essay -- After the Civil War conditions were bad for both Southern blacks and Southern whites. There were 4 million black men and women emerging from bondage. They began forming all black communities, freeing themselves from white control. But in 1865, Southern state legislatures began enacting sets of laws called Black Codes. These laws authorized local officials to apprehend unemployed blacks, fine them for vagrancy and hire them out to private employers to satisfy their fine. Some codes allowed blacks to only take jobs as plantation workers or servants. The South found a way to go back to slavery without breaking the new laws. In 1866, Congress passed the first Civil Rights Act, which declared blacks as citizens of the United States which allowed the federal government to intervene in state affairs when necessary to protect the rights of the citizens. Then in June of 1866, Congress approved the 14th Amendment which states that everyone born in the United States, and everyone naturalized was automatically a citizen and entitled to equal protection by both state and national government. Even though slavery was abolished and blacks were, at least by law, free and considered equal, they still did not have the same rights and opportunities as white people. In February of 1869, Congress passed the 15th Amendment. The Amendment attempts to ensure black voting rights by stipulating that voting rights cannot be denied on the basis of race, color, or previous servitude. But yet it did nothing to allow the Southern whites to prevent blacks from voting. Since blacks were not educated and did not own property or have the money to pay poll taxes it made it almost impossible for blacks to vote. There was a dramatic improvement in south... ...freedom was granted to the slaves, they were no longer property and therefore no longer worth anything to the former slave owners. In every which way the South tried to get back to the ways of slavery. Blacks also faced the dark problem of hate crimes and white supremacy. Blacks never actually gained their freedom for years to come. Freedom is the lack of restrictions, but blacks were still being told what they can and cannot do or where they can and cannot go. The law stated that blacks were allowed to vote but made it almost impossible for them to actually do so. The blacks were given land then had it taken away from them when the whites who abandoned that land came back to claim it. It was a struggle for a former slave to begin an actual life for them or their families. Blacks were not given the opportunities and the chance at the new life that they were promised.