Question

Black Codes was a name given to laws passed by southern governments established

during the presidency of Andrew Johnson. These laws imposed severe restrictions on
freedmen, such as prohibiting their right to vote, forbidding them to sit on juries, and
limiting their right to testify against white men. They were also forbidden from carrying
weapons in public places and working in certain occupations.
-National Archives and Records Administration,
http://www.archives.gov (accessed July 14, 2010)
Southern states passed the codes described in this excerpt in order to -
limit the effects of the Reconstruction Amendments
increase the labor supply for factory jobs in the North
decrease the number of northern representatives in Congress
improve relations with the Democratic Party

Answer 1

Southern states passed the Black Codes described in this excerpt in order to limit the effects of the Reconstruction Amendments. These amendments, which were added to the U.S. Constitution after the Civil War, granted citizenship and voting rights to African Americans, and were seen as a threat to the social and political order of the South. The Black Codes were an attempt to circumvent these amendments and maintain white supremacy in the South.