The Black Codes were a series of laws passed after the Civil War. What was the purpose of The Black Codes

The Civil War ultimately abolished slavery. Yet black people were never truly free due to the Black Codes. The Black Codes were necessary to keep black people in the labor force which mirrored slavery. This is because after the Civil War when all slaves became free, there was a major labor shortage. The Black Codes drew black people back to working the same cheap labor they did as slaves. They also preserved white supremacy and segregation of America because many people in the south still wanted that. The black codes kept black people enslaved, literally.