Final answer:
The black codes, or Jim Crow Laws, passed by Southern states during Reconstruction were attempts to deny equal rights to African Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The black codes, later called Jim Crow Laws, passed by Southern states during Reconstruction were attempts to deny equal rights to African Americans. These laws were designed to maintain the social and economic structure of racial slavery, even after slavery itself was abolished. The black codes restricted the civic participation of freed enslaved people by taking away their right to vote, serve on juries, own property, carry weapons, and in some cases, even rent or lease land.