Black Codes Name Institutional affiliation Black codes Introduction Among the changes that followed was the introduction of the 13th Amendment that outlawed the institution of slavery. However, the freedmen had barely enjoyed the freedom before Southern States limited their freedom. The Reconstruction under President Andrew Johnson from Tennessee allowed the ruling class to freely create their own governments. Between 1865 and 1877 the Southern States passed a series of policies known as black codes to restrict the activities of the free black men. They included restrictions to certain professions such as farming despite small lands and servants. Failure to do so, there were heavy fines, forced labor or imprisonment. Black codes ensured that the races retained their pre-war status after the abolition of slavery. Social and political equality The question of citizenship was one of the pressing issues after Prior to the Civil War, the Supreme Court had ruled in the Dred Scott case in 1858 that Blacks brought into the United States shall never become citizens of the United States. Therefore, after the war, it was unclear whether to consider the freed blacks as Americans or foreigners. However, the events on the ground during and after the war could