Key Points on Radical Republicans and Black Codes in Reconstruction Era

Southern Reaction and Black Codes

• Southern white satisfaction with "white man’s government"
• Confederate states reinstated after Thirteenth Amendment ratification
• Return of pre-war leaders to government positions
• Creation of Black Codes to restrict rights and voting

Black Codes Overview

• Origins in Mississippi legislation from November $1865$
• Mandatory employment and assembly rules for freedmen over $18$
• Vagrancy charges for non-compliance with labor rules
• Gun ownership restrictions and high weapon taxes
• Police terror to enforce labor contracts with former slaveholders

Congressional Response to Johnson's Actions

• Republican-majority Congress convened in December $1865$
• Radical Republicans led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens
• Plans for fundamental change to Southern social structure
• Emphasis on free labor and rights for free men
• Dispute between Johnson’s states’ rights and Radicals’ constitutional governance