Mississippi Black Code Research Paper

When the Civil War ended in 1865 and slavery was finally abolished, those who were newly freed still faced great hardships in acquiring equal rights and fighting against discrimination, especially in the South. Mississippi was one state in particular that set out to try and prevent African Americans from attaining equal treatment and opportunities. Like many other southern states, Mississippi issued a “black code” towards the end of 1865, after the war, as a way to cap off African American rights. Aware of the risk that this might also happen to them, in November of 1865, the Colored People’s Convention of South Carolina appealed to Congress to prevent similar black codes from coming into effect in their state and demanded equal rights. The two documents show the harsh divide between what

While it granted blacks some new rights, it largely inhibited their freedom overall and even made it a punishable offence in some cases for whites to have close relationships with them. For example, the code allowed black people to serve in court without discrimination and applied reasonable tax laws for them. But it also allowed official marriages for blacks while outlawing interracial relationships, the penalty for which carried a life sentence in jail for both of the parties involved. It also prohibited casual, public get-togethers of groups of African Americans and, in addition, made it an offence for whites to gather together with them as well. Any white person found spending time with a black person “on terms of equality” was considered a “vagrant,” and the people involved in these gatherings were fined and sentenced to brief jail time. These laws did everything in their power to prevent, not only equal truly treatment, but also friendship between the different races. The laws sent a message to all citizens of Mississippi that under no circumstances should blacks and whites