Why would white Southerners pass laws that controlled the movement of African Americans? What would happen if African Americans left the South in huge numbers? How do these laws help you to understand what life was like in Louisiana and other Southern states after the Civil War?

Black Codes

Answer the following questions about the reconstruction after the civil war:

1. When were these Black Codes written? Who do you think wrote these laws?
2. List three things that freedmen and women were not allowed to do according to the Black Codes.
3. Why would white Southerners pass laws that controlled the movement of African Americans? What would happen if African Americans left the South in huge numbers?
4. How do these laws help you to understand what life was like in Louisiana and other Southern states after the Civil War?

Document C: Henry Adams’s Statement

1. Who wrote this document? When and why was it written?
2. According to Adams, what was life like for freedmen and women after the Civil War?

3.Do you trust the account in this document? Why or why not?

Document D: African American Political Representation

1. What does this information about African-American politicians tell you about whatNlife was like for African Americans during Reconstruction?

Document E: Education

1. Why do you think education was important to former slaves during Reconstruction?
2. How does this description of life for freedmen compare to Henry Adams’s statement?