The Black Codes Titled “Selling a Freeman to Pay His Fine at Monticello, Florida,” this 1867 drawing from a northern magazine equates black codes with the reinstitution of slavery. The laws stopped short of reenslavement but sharply restricted blacks’ freedom. In Florida, as in other southern states, certain acts, such as breaking a labor contract, were made criminal offenses, the penalty for which could be involuntary plantation labor for a year.
The Granger Collection, NYC.