History of the United States I / Unit 16 USH1 2268 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Black Codes
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The idea
Southern states enacted laws in eighteen sixty-five and sixty-six that maintained slavery's structure without slavery, restricting voting, jury service, weapon ownership and land rental.
In practice
A body of law written to reach every activity a free person would undertake.
Where people slip
These codes endured and formed the foundation of the Jim Crow segregation policies that impoverished generations of African Americans.
Your place on the trail
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