What can be inferred by the passage of the black codes?

Question

1. Many southerners were willing to allow African Americans equality.
2. Many white Southerners wanted African American to remain as servants.
3. Many white Southerners wanted African Americans to receive an equal education.
4. Southern lawmakers wanted “separate but equal” rights

Answer 1

From the passage of the black codes, the most accurate inference is:

2. Many white Southerners wanted African Americans to remain as servants.

The black codes were laws enacted in the Southern states after the Civil War that aimed to restrict the freedoms of African Americans and maintain white supremacy. They often enforced labor contracts that effectively kept African Americans in subordinate roles. This suggests that many white Southerners sought to ensure that African Americans remained in a position of servitude or subservience rather than granting them equality.