• abolished slavery

Black Codes 1865:

• Passed by southern governments - attempted to manage the lives of former slaves

  • No black person can leave a parish without written approval

  • No black person can own/rent a house in said parish

  • No black person can congregate in these parishes (weekend first amendment) - cannot bear firearms

  • No black person can sell anything without special permission

  • No black person can be drunk and if found drunk they have to pay $5

  • Every citizen should be responsible for these codes - made it so the black codes were always on white people's minds.

Lincoln assassinated (April 14th, 1865)

• made black people citizens of the United States

Enforcement Act outlawed Terrorist societies (its in the name)

15th amendment: Gave every citizen the right to vote, and prohibited any states from taking this away because of race/ethnicity

_{Repealed 20 years later (1887)}

Separated the South into 5 military districts - black people could vote.

Really made sure the south wouldn't still continue to oppress black people - kinda worked until way later after reconstruction with the redeemers.

Sea Island Experiment:

• Sent former slaves to an island where they would be integrated into a society where they were not slaves.

• It eventually failed as the land was taken away from the former slaves and given to white men

Shifted the focus of reconstruction from Civil Rights to economic repair

Severely limited slaughters protections of their rights on a state level

Claimed 14th amendment only served for black people.

Weakened Reconstruction - made white supramacy violence extensive in south

Started attacking black people during elections

Destroyed black participation in Elections - basically destroyed Reconstruction

Withdrawing Federal troops from south - bad idea - a lot more violence and Democratic control now.

Marked the end of Reconstruction - left black people very vulnerable.

Regained control of state governments

This landmark Supreme Court case upheld Louisiana's Separate Car Act, which mandated racial segregation in public facilities under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Case Background:

• Homer Plessy, of mixed racial heritage, challenged the law after being arrested for refusing to sit in a train car designated for Black passengers, arguing it violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

• Plessy contended that the law denied him equal rights and perpetuated racial inferiority.

Majority Opinion (Justice Brown):

• The Court ruled that the Separate Car Act was constitutional, asserting that segregation did not imply the inferiority of African Americans.

• It argued that social equality could not be enforced by law and must occur naturally through societal developments.

Dissenting Opinion (Justice Harlan):

• Justice Harlan strongly opposed the ruling, arguing the Constitution is "color-blind" and guarantees equality for all citizens.

• He warned that the decision would entrench racial discrimination and likened it to the infamous Dred Scott ruling.

• He emphasized that segregation laws were inherently based on racial superiority, undermining civil liberties and equality.

The decision solidified the legality of segregation until it was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

• Violence on both sides (North and South)

Significance: South was spiraling downward (clear violence on both sides)

Also in the Civil Rights Act made it so black people were eligible as well.