Civil War Reconstruction Dbq

The Civil War ended in 1865, Following that was a time called reconstruction. The time of reconstruction is when Congress rewrote many laws and added new amendments to the constitution to give recently free slaves’ rights. Although this was an exceptional accomplishment by congress not everyone was pleased with it. As a result of this reconstruction failed because an abounding amount of people did not wish for the new amendments. The new additions included giving now free slaves the right to work when they wanted and to be compensated for their work, as well as being able to be legally wed and to carry a gun. However to a remarkably large population of the south this was outrageous. The sheer thought of these slaves that they themselves brought …show more content…
These Codes were “devised laws to regulate and control former slaves” (author 's name,311). As stated in the above paragraph, Not everyone was particularly thrilled with the idea of losing their slaves. After all, owning slaves has become something of a commonplace for white southerners. For instance, these laws had many loopholes such as “if the laborer shall quit the service of the employer, before expiration of his term of service, without good cause, he shall forfeit his wages for that year, up to the time of quitting”.(authors name,311) Showing that if a former slave quits his employment with his employer, he will have to give up the money he has earned. Another instance of a loophole in the Black Codes is “That it shall be the duty of all sheriffs, justices of the peace, and other civil officers of the several counties in this State, to report to the probate courts of their respective counties, semi-annually, at the January and July terms of said courts, all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes, under the age of eighteen, within their respective counties, beats or districts, who are orphans, or whose parent or parents have not the means, or who refuse to provide for and support said minors, and thereupon it shall be the duty of said probate court, to order the clerk of said court to apprentice said minors to some competent and suitable person, on such terms as the court may direct. ... Provided, …show more content…
These Codes were “devised laws to regulate and control former slaves” (author 's name,311). As stated in the above paragraph, Not everyone was particularly thrilled with the idea of losing their slaves. After all, owning slaves has become something of a commonplace for white southerners. For instance these laws had many loopholes such as “if the laborer shall quit the service of the employer, before expiration of his term of service, without good cause, he shall forfeit his wages for that year, up to the time of quitting”.(authors name,311) Showing that if a former slave quits his employment with his employer he will have to give up the money he has earned. Another instance of a loophole in the Black Codes