1865–1866
LegislationSupplement
Black Codes restrict freedom after emancipation
Southern United States; formerly enslaved Black people
State laws constrained movement, employment, contracts and other rights. Vagrancy and labor provisions helped push freed people toward dependent work and criminal punishment.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
Provisions differed by state; the Mississippi examples should not be treated as identical nationwide rules.