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Difficulty: MediumReconstruction and the Reconstruction Amendments

"All contracts for labor with freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes for a longer period than one month shall be in writing... and if the laborer shall quit the service of the employer before the expiration of his term of service, without good cause, he shall forfeit his wages for that year up to the time of quitting."
—Mississippi Black Code, 1865

The legislation described in the excerpt most directly prompted which of the following responses from Congress?

  1. A
    The implementation of Presidential Reconstruction policies designed to punish former Confederate leaders
  2. B
    The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to formally abolish the institution of slavery
  3. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the subsequent drafting of the Fourteenth AmendmentAnswer
  4. D
    The passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to guarantee voting rights to newly emancipated people

Answer

The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the subsequent drafting of the Fourteenth Amendment
The enactment of Black Codes by Southern states in 1865 showed that white Southerners aimed to return freedmen to a status of coerced labor. Congress responded to these developments by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and drafting the Fourteenth Amendment to protect civil rights and constitutionalize citizenship.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document to identify its origin, purpose, and context.
The document is the Mississippi Black Code of 1865, which restricted the labor and movement of freedmen shortly after the Civil War.
To establish the historical context and the problem being addressed.
2
Evaluate the response of the federal government to the rise of Black Codes in the South.
Congress rejected the lenient Presidential Reconstruction policies of Andrew Johnson that allowed these codes to exist and moved to protect the civil rights of freedmen.
To identify the direct political consequence of the Southern states' actions.
3
Connect the Congressional response to the correct legislative actions and Reconstruction Amendments.
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and drafted the Fourteenth Amendment to secure citizenship and equal protection, directly combatting the discriminatory state codes.
To select the option that accurately describes this legislative reaction.

Key Concept

The Congressional response to Southern Black Codes through the passage of civil rights legislation and the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Topics

Reconstruction and the Reconstruction Amendments

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