Vagrancy laws in the 1860s applied to
a. the property that african americans were allowed to rent or own.
b. people who moved from place to place without regular homes or work.
c. the role of the planter aristocracy in southern state legislatures.
d. voter registration rights for newly freed african americans in the south.

B. People who moved from place to place without regular homes or work.

Further Explanation-

The Vagrancy Act was passed in 1866, to prevent any person who moved from place to place without a regular home from running away before the completion of a minimum employment term. A person without a regular job or home could be forced to be employed for a period of minimum three months, and if he or she would be recaptured during any attempted escape, they would be reduced to servitude, and forced to complete their employment while wearing balls and chains. This Act was formulated after the American Civil War when slavery as an institution was abolished, and the freed slaves wanted to establish themselves in the American society and economy.  The Vagrancy Laws were not formally enforced as they criminalized the attempt of slaves rebuilding their lives. Although the law was proposed to be applied equally to all, it was clearly used to discriminate against the recently-freed African Americans and was a part of law in Virginia until 1904.

The Vagrant Laws were formally drafted in Virginia in the First full General Assembly after the Civil War had ended. The main intention behind the drafting of the Act was to continue the practice of oppressing the newly freed slaves, i.e. African Americans, from rebuilding their lives within the American society. The Vagrant Laws were restrictive in nature and provided for constant discrimination against the former slaves. Although the laws were drafted to be applied to all American citizens, it was particularly applied to former slaves, restricting their movement and freedom. The laws empowered local law enforcement officials to arrest, detain or expel anyone who did not have any established financial support or a permanent home. The former slaves could not refuse to work at lower wages than offered to other workers. The commanding general of the United States, Alfred Terry, described the laws to be nothing than reconstituting the institution of slavery.

Learn more:

1. Which of the following represents one of congress's electoral powers?

2. What was the effect of the supreme court case mcculloch v. maryland?

3. What was one effect of the great society programs?

Answer Details-

Grade- High School.

Chapter- The American Civil War.

Subject- History.

Keywords-

Civil war, slavery, forced employment, freed slaves, economic and social freedom, discrimination, American Civil War.

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