The correct answer is option 4 : The Southern Black Codes, enacted after the Civil War, restricted the rights of freed people. Hmong the options provided, however, it did allow freed people to enter into contracts.
The Southern Black Codes generally did allow freed people to enter into contracts. However, it's essential to note that these codes often imposed various restrictions on the types of contracts and limited economic opportunities for African Americans during that period.
The Southern Black Codes provided limited rights to newly freed African Americans, including the ability to enter into contracts, but severely restricted their freedoms, bearing striking similarities to slave laws and imposing social and economic control.
The Black Codes were a set of restrictive laws enacted after the Civil War, designed to control the newly freed African American population and maintain a labor force similar to that under slavery.
While the Black Codes varied from state to state, they commonly denied the right to bear arms, vote, serve on juries, and co-mingle with whites among others.
However, these oppressive laws did allow freed people some rights such as the ability to enter into contracts, own property within designated areas, and to some extent, access to credit.
Despite the allowance for black individuals to marry or make contracts, the codes severely restricted their freedoms, effectively continuing the racial inequalities and exploitation from the slavery era.
Black codes also criminalized black leisure, limited mobility, and instituted exploitative working conditions.