Final answer:
The laws enacted by southern states that relegated African Americans to a status of second class citizenship were known as Jim Crow laws and Black codes, designed to maintain white supremacy after the Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
Laws enacted by southern states that emphasized the inferior status of African Americans and sought to restore the antebellum hierarchy were known as Jim Crow laws. These laws enforced segregation in all public facilities under the 'separate but equal' doctrine and implemented widespread disenfranchisement through mechanisms such as literacy tests and poll taxes. They also included Black codes, which limited the rights of African Americans in various social and economic aspects, effectively criminalizing black leisure, restricting mobility, and keeping many locked into exploitative labor contracts.In essence, the Jim Crow laws and Black codes were designed to maintain white supremacy by denying African Americans equal protection under the law and entrenching a system that was very similar to the chattel slavery of the pre-Civil War South. Despite challenges, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment aiming to protect the rights of African Americans, these discriminatory laws persisted well into the 20th century, helping to spur movements for civil rights and social justice.