African-American Law During The Antebellum Period

In 1865, Mississippi set forth a batch of laws to extend rights yet limit African-Americans from becoming the equal counterparts of their white peers. These laws were known as the “Black Code.”
The laws had been outlined in sections, which were further divided into categories. Vagrancy Law, Civil Rights of Freedom, and Penal Code were the three categories. The “Black Code” shows that the Reconstruction era had been marked more by continuity than change from antebellum period. Section one of Civil Rights of Freedom gave African-Americans the right to sue, which indicates a change from the antebellum period. It is crucial to note that enslavement of African descended individuals was a legal practice during the antebellum period. Much of the laws were, thus, unfavorable towards those of African descent. An example of one such unfavorable law was one that treated the murder of African descended
individuals as a “minor misdemeanor” (“The American Yawp”). This unfavorable law shows that individuals of African descents were discriminated against. Thus, the right to sue was a change from the antebellum period because it allowed African-Americans to claim ownership and protest against discrimination. Act of claiming ownership and protesting were changes in itself. Ownership represents change because individuals of African descents were not allowed to own but rent from their white peers before the Reconstruction era. Moreover, act of protesting was important because African-Americans were not allowed to do it during the antebellum period. If the individuals did protest, then they would receive punishment that ranged from a spectrum of minor to severe. Whipping was a minor and death was a severe punishment (“The American Yawp”). Considering the fact that pro-slavery sentiment was still fresh in Mississippi 1865, it is possible that the suing process was corrupted and the African-Americans did not receive fair trails. Hence, change during the Reconstruction era occurred only to a small degree. Section eight of the Vagrancy Law gave African-Americans the right to appeal court judgements. This law represents change because appealing was not a right that individuals of African descents had during the antebellum period. It is interesting to note that the African-Americans were directly identified in the other sections of the “Black Code” via words, such as: “freedmen,” “free Negroes,” and “mulattos” (“The American Yawp”). On this eight section, they were not directly identified but referred to as “person.” This lack of identification creates ambiguity, which leaves room to build arguments that limit African-Americans during court proceeding. The pro-slavery power relationship was also prevalent in Mississippi, which means that there was an unspoken rule of not recognizing an African-American as a person but a property (“The American Yawp”). This unspoken rule may have misled and discouraged African-Americans from invoking the right. Second section of the Vagrancy Law required African-Americans to be employed, which shows continuity from the antebellum period.
The law does not directly state whom should they be employed under. It is crucial to note that there was not much opportunity for an African-American to employ their peer. This note indicates that the law indirectly required an African-American to be employed by their white peer. Hence, the employment requirement continued the power relationship that existed during the antebellum period. Furthermore, if an African-American did not present proper employment paper, then they were arrested (“The American Yawp”). The act of arresting is another continuity from the antebellum period. It is a continuity because individuals of African descent were frequently arrested during that period for simply appearing the way that they do (“The American Yawp”). In fact, many were arrested despite being freemen during the years of Fugitive Slave Act. These continuities indicate that the reconstruction era was not so different from antebellum
period. First section of the Penal Code prevented African-Americans from keeping and bearing arms. This law is a continuity because people of African descent were punished for carrying arms during the antebellum period. Moreover, the act of bearing arm is a right that the Constitution gives to the citizens of the United States (“The American Yawp”). Considering the limitation on arms, it is possible that the state did not accept African-Americans as citizens of the country. This limitation further suggests that there was not much changes during the Reconstruction era from the antebellum period. The “Black Code” of 1865 shows that the early years of the Reconstruction era was marked more by continuity than change from the antebellum period. It is crucial to note that changes did occur but only to a small degree. Presence of pro-slavery sentiments in the society influenced the rights that African-Americans received. Furthermore, pro-slavery power relationship was preserved by the “Black Code.”