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Mississippi's Black Code Dbq

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The “Black Codes” improved the lives of former slaves in the South in several ways; however, many of Mississippi’s Black Codes control the lives of African Americans extremely strictly. For example, in Section 1, African Americans are allowed to own land and may acquire personal property to the same extent of whites. Although the state gave former slaves civil rights, there were regulations to the laws. For instance, as the section continues, it states, “… the provisions of this section shall not allow any freedman, free negro, or mulatto to rent or lease any land except in cities or towns, in which places the local authorities shall control such matters.” This shows that the lives of African Americans were improving, however, at the same time, it was not improving were such laws in place. …show more content…

Before slaves were freed, they could not marry anyone. After the Civil War, the Black Codes in Mississippi improved the lives of African Americans by allowing marriage. Even though, the state allowed marriage, there was heavy restriction to the code. For example, in Section 3, the document states, “that is shall not be lawful for any freedman, free negro, or mulatto to intermarry with any white person… and any person who shall so intermarry shall be guilty of felony.” This shows that although slaves are freed, the state did not treat them as ordinary people. The state was trying to control the former slaves as much as they could without calling it

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