"The Freedman's rights in court varied from state to state, but generally he was not entitled to the same treatment as a white defendant or witness and in some states he could testify only in cases exclusively involving an African American." (Wood, pg.52) .
To ensure individual responsibility, the codes outlined apprenticeship and work regulations and the terms of contracts, marriages, and family relations. "For example, in Mississippi there was a law that allowed sheriffs to hire out the labor of prisoner Negros who could not pay their fines; this law was especially controversial in the North because it appeared to be a step toward the re-enslavement of the blacks. The fact that virtually any Negro could be classified as a vagrant-including gamblers, peddlers, entertainers, beggars, prostitutes, panderers, and unemployed persons- gave local authorities broad powers for controlling and suppressing the undesirable members of the black population". (Current, pg.106) White Southerners believed that these laws were for the Negro's protection, because they forced him to fulfill agreements, to maintain a home for his family, and to seek and secure employment. The laws would discourage the African American of being vagrant and idle by restricting his mobility. The laws were supposed to strengthen his sense of responsibility to both his family and his neighbors. .
African Americans desperately wanted to move up in social standing and become educated. They desired the chance to become literate. Blacks saw emancipation as their opportunity to become involved with society without the worry of being owned by someone. The labor system of free labor versus slavery contained a shift that few in the south were willing to accommodate. "Racists found ways to circumvent the law and create other devices that made it difficult for the Freedman to vote or own farms of their own, devices such as Literacy tests, poll taxes, "grandfather clause", and eventual intimidation.