W. E. B Dubois Black Codes Analysis

In the article, “The Black Codes”, W.E.B. Du Bois describes laws that were passed by legislators in southern states. The black codes were statues that entrenched upon newly freed slaves’ civil rights because they restricted African American citizen privileges. In W.E.B Du Bois’s article, he analysed the black codes, and then he transitions his focal point to some specific examples of the black codes. The black codes that were most atrocious to him were those that regarded vagrancy and apprenticeship. The vagrancy codes punished African Americans who were unemployed and homeless. If an African American desired to leave his plantation to seek new employment, he could not do so without the risk of being convicted of vagrancy and punished severely. Under the apprenticeship law, African American minors would be taken away from their homes if their parents could not provide …show more content…
Andrew Johnson is a famous American figure, his expertise is not in racial relations or any type of history. President Johnson expertise are politics, but W.E.B Du Bois is a world renowned sociologist as well as a historian. Since race is socially constructed, I would consider W.E.B Du Bois as an expert authority in this field, therefore increasing the credibility of his article. In Du Bois’s article he transcribes portions of the black codes instead of using his own interpretation of them. He adds validity to his claim because he uses facts to support his claim instead of using his own words which would inevitably include biases. Andrew Johnson does not utilize any evidence in his claim. He makes blatantly racist, stereotypical assumptions about African Americans, and these assumptions further eradicate all credibility from Johnson’s claim. W.E.B Du Bois’s claim is more valid and credible then Andrew Johnson’s because Du Bois uses more evidence to support his