What were Black Codes and what purpose did they serve in the postwar South?

• A. They restricted African Americans' rights and labor mobility to maintain a subservient labor force and white supremacy.
• B. They restricted poll taxes and literacy tests for Blacks.
• C. They created a universal caste system for all races.
• D. They guaranteed equal access to education.

Answer: (A)

Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War to keep African Americans in a subordinate position and to recreate a controlled labor system. They stripped freedpeople of basic rights and freedom of movement, limited the ability to sign labor contracts, own property, or pursue certain opportunities, and they imposed curfews, vagrancy rules, and penalties that could force Black workers back into labor under white supervision. By narrowing legal protections and linking Black life to daily labor under white authority, these codes aimed to preserve white supremacy and ensure a cheap, controllable labor force in the new South.

That’s why the best choice is that they restricted African Americans’ rights and labor mobility to maintain a subservient labor force and white supremacy. Options that focus on poll taxes or literacy tests, imagine a universal caste system, or guarantee equal education do not capture the central purpose and scope of the Black Codes.