Black Codes are created to continue to exploit the labor system of formerly enslaved Black communities. The codes "allow" free Black people certain rights, such as legalized marriage, ownership of property, and limited access to the courts, but deny them the rights to testify against whites, to serve on juries or in state militias, to vote, or start a job without the approval of their previous employer.
Many Southern states require Black people to sign annual labor contracts, where if they refuse they are arrested, fined, or forced to do unpaid labor. The first wave of Black Codes will be legally repealed in 1866 when Reconstruction begins, but more will follow.