Were Black Codes just slavery in another form? Why or why not?
Read and analyze excerpts from the following sources:
・Mississippi Black Code, 1866
・South Carolina Black Code, 1865
・"Black Codes," Chicago Tribune, November 29, 1865
・"Reconciliation," Chicago Tribune, December 18, 1865
No, Black Codes were not just slavery in another form. The Mississippi Black Code of 1866, for example, prohibited African Americans from entering into contracts, owning firearms, and testifying in court against whites, but it also provided for the protection of African Americans' property rights, the right to sue and be sued, and the right to work and receive wages. Similarly, the South Carolina Black Code of 1865 provided for the protection of African Americans' property rights, the right to sue and be sued, and the right to work and receive wages.
The Chicago Tribune's November 29, 1865 article on Black Codes noted that the codes were designed to protect African Americans from "oppression and injustice," and the December 18, 1865 article on Reconciliation noted that the codes were intended to "secure to the freedmen the rights of citizens." These articles suggest that the Black Codes were not just slavery in another form, but rather were intended to provide African Americans with certain rights and protections.