Objective:
Warm-up:
- Compare and contrast the institution of slavery with the requirements that “All freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes …with no lawful employment or business …shall be deemed vagrants” and may be arrested for leaving an employer.
- Why might the Mississippi legislature have passed the black codes? What was their purpose?
After the civil war ended, many states in the South immediately passed laws limiting the freedom of the freed slaves. The laws, called “Black Codes” typically prevented freed slaves from voting, traveling freely, testifying against whites in court, or serving on juries.
- All freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes in this State, over the age of eighteen years, found … with no lawful employment or business …shall be deemed vagrants.
- Every civil officer shall, and every person may, arrest and carry back to his or her legal employer any freedman, free negro, or mulatto who shall have quit the service of his or her employer before the expiration of his or her term of service without good cause.
- …if the laborer shall quit the service of the employer before the expiration of his term of service, without good cause, he shall forfeit his wages for that year up to the time of quitting.
- …no freedman, free negro or mulatto, not in the military service of the United States government, and not licensed so to do by the board of police of his or her county, shall keep or carry fire-arms of any kind, or any ammunition, dirk or bowie knife…
- Any freedman, free negro, or mulatto committing riots, routs, affrays, trespasses, malicious mischief, cruel treatment to animals, seditious speeches, insulting gestures, language, or acts, or assaults on any person, disturbance of the peace, exercising the function of a minister of the Gospel without a license from some regularly organized church, vending spirituous or intoxicating liquors…shall…be fined not less than ten dollars, and not more than one hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned at the discretion of the court, not exceeding thirty days.
Class Reading:
Homework:
Answer Questions 1-2