Government Policies 1865-1900
The majority determines the policies of that are set by the government. The policies that are set benefit the majority and usually not the minority. The minority has little power to change policy. When the Civil War ended in 1865 African American men and women were free from slavery but not free from violence and prejudice in the South. As the southern states were allowed to operate on their own, their state legislatures passed what were called black codes. These codes were used to keep the African Americans in the South as subordinates to Whites, by restricting the African Americans rights. The codes defined African Americans rights in these states. By these codes an African American was unable to own land, restricted their employment to farm work. African Americans under these codes were unable to move about the countryside. If an African American did not have a job, they were found guilty of vagrancy and put to forced labor. When Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, it defined the legal rights of every citizen, including African Americans.