As Southern states re-entered the Union, freed people needed legal protection of their new status. Reconstruction laws began to be enacted after the Southern states rejoined the Union. The first was the Thirteen Amendment to the Constitution, officially outlawing slavery in the United States. However, White Mississippians soon found ways to stifle Black freedom through Jim Crow laws.
Pictured: A yellowed drawing of a group of people await the word of emancipation. On the left, a group of people sit with looks of anticipation. At the center, four people surround a tall table. On the right, a man holds a torch and is surrounded by enslaved people and religious figures.
Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-10981
