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Black Codes
Black codes were laws passed by the southern states. They were made to help control newly freed slaves. Some of these codes consist of not letting an african american own land or letting white employers take advantage of them. These laws allowed the govenment to arrest them if they did not work. Even though these laws were mean and tough, they were still better than slavery. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
This right gave the congress power to stop the black codes and give African Americans rights. It also gave the freed slaves citizenship. This act also correct the Supreme Court disicion in 1857 saying that they were not citizens. But president Johnson vetoed both bills(Black codes and civil rights)and said that they were unconstitutional. That was the Civil Rights Act of 1866. -
Reconstruction Acts
These laws were passed to make sure everyone agreed with the 14th amendment. The first one said that rebel states had to form districts led by military leaders. The second one said that armys had to register voters. This allowing African Americans to vote. Those are the Reconstruction Acts. -
The 14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment was to make sure nobody could override the civil rights act of 1866 in the future. It guaranteed that African Americans could keep their citizenship forever. Another part of the law said that nobody could take someones life, liberty or property without proccess of law. Some people thought this was too extreme. That is the 14th amentment. -
15th Amendment
This Amendment gave every male citizen a right to vote no matter what. This right succeeded in giving freed slaves a better lifestyle. The power to vote also protected themsleves against unfair treatment. The 15th amendment surely did not allow any unfair treatment go to African Americans. When passing this law Republicans thought they did their job.
