10 Sep During the Reconstruction period, many southern governments enacted legislation that reestablished

During the Reconstruction period, many southern governments enacted legislation that reestablished antebellum power relationships. South Carolina and Mississippi passed laws known as Black Codes to regulate black behavior and impose social and economic control within 6 months of the end of the Civil War. While they granted some rights to African Americans – like the right to own property, to marry or to make contracts – they also denied other fundamental rights. Mississippi’s vagrant law, excerpted here, required all freedmen to carry papers proving they had means of employment. If they had no proof, they could be arrested, fined, or even re-enslaved and leased out to their former enslaver.

In what ways do Black Codes limit the movement, activities and personal freedom of people in Mississippi (reference the text from at least one of the codes provided in the link)?

1. Ultimately, what were the economic causes for creating these laws and what was the desired outcome of keeping people tied to a particular job or region?

2. In the Reconstruction era South, was it possible to have democracy without electoral and basic equality? Do you believe that existing inequalities (social, political, economic, etc.), in the US today prevent full democracy? Why or why not?

300 words, substantive and addresses the prompt