What were Black Codes?

• A. Laws Restricting Voting Rights For White Settlers
• B. Colonial Laws That Legalized And Enforced Slavery, Depriving Africans Of Rights
• C. Codes Protecting Indigenous Land Rights
• D. Trade Regulations With Europe

Answer: (B)

Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War that aimed to control the labor and behavior of newly freed African Americans. They restricted key rights and freedoms—such as the ability to move freely, seek certain kinds of work, sign contracts, or stay out of debt without punishment—and they often imposed penalties for vagrancy or not having a job. The overall effect was to maintain a labor system and social order that kept African Americans in a subordinate position, closely mirroring slavery in practice even though slavery itself had ended.

The option that describes laws depriving Africans of rights captures the essential purpose of Black Codes. The other choices don’t fit because Black Codes were not primarily about restricting voting rights for white settlers, protecting Indigenous land rights, or regulating trade with Europe.