African-American Law During The Antebellum Period

In 1865, Mississippi set forth a batch of laws to extend rights yet limit African-Americans from becoming the equal counterparts of their white peers. These laws were known as the “Black Code.”
The laws had been outlined in sections, which were further divided into categories. Vagrancy Law, Civil Rights of Freedom, and Penal Code were the three categories. The “Black Code” shows that the Reconstruction era had been marked more by continuity than change from antebellum period. Section one of Civil Rights of Freedom gave African-Americans the right to sue, which indicates a change from the antebellum period. It is crucial to note that enslavement of African descended individuals was a legal practice during the antebellum period. Much of the laws were, thus, unfavorable towards those of African descent. An example of one such unfavorable law was one that treated the murder of African descended
The law does not directly state whom should they be employed under. It is crucial to note that there was not much opportunity for an African-American to employ their peer. This note indicates that the law indirectly required an African-American to be employed by their white peer. Hence, the employment requirement continued the power relationship that existed during the antebellum period. Furthermore, if an African-American did not present proper employment paper, then they were arrested (“The American Yawp”). The act of arresting is another continuity from the antebellum period. It is a continuity because individuals of African descent were frequently arrested during that period for simply appearing the way that they do (“The American Yawp”). In fact, many were arrested despite being freemen during the years of Fugitive Slave Act. These continuities indicate that the reconstruction era was not so different from antebellum