If not previously reviewed, have students read the third paragraph of the Student Context to develop content knowledge to engage in this activity. Expand on that reading by further, explaining to the class that President Johnson’s lenient approach to Reconstruction allowed former Confederates leaders to reclaim power in Southern states and that the civil rights and citizenship status of formerly enslaved African Americans was unclear and legally unguaranteed at the end of the Civil War. This meant that state legislatures in Southern states were empowered to pass laws specifying the legal rights afforded to African American people, despite the fact that many of these lawmakers were former enslavers or sympathetic to the defense of chattel slavery. Tell students that these legislative acts are collectively referred to as Black Codes.
Divide the class into seven groups for a Jigsaw activity, with each group reading the Black Codes from one or two states and completing the Analysis of Black Codes Handout.
- Mississippi
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Florida and Tennessee
- Alabama and North Carolina
- Maryland and Virginia
- Louisiana and Georgia
In the first round of the jigsaw activity, have each group answer the following questions:
- List the rights that are explicitly named in the Black Code. What limitations to these rights exist, according to the Black Code?
- In what ways does the Black Code deny or restrict rights to freedpeople?
- Why would this law contribute to the racial discrimination ?
Once students have read and discussed, create new groupings in a jigsaw fashion so that each new grouping includes at least one student representing each of the original group configurations. Have students discuss the questions, “Why would former Confederate states pass these laws under President Johnson’s Reconstruction? What would these laws mean for the future opportunities and social standing of freedpeople in the South?”
Finally, recognizing the emotional impact of this activity you may also opt to allow time for students to share their personal reflections on the Black Code that they read, focusing on their intuitive reaction and how they would respond or “talk back” to the ethical and legal implications to those drafting the codes.