Final answer:
The freedom of African Americans in the South after the Civil War was restricted by Black Codes, which were discriminatory state laws aimed at preserving white supremacy and the pre-war social order through legal means.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Black Codes and Their Impact
Southern whites in state legislatures restricted the freedom of African Americans in the South soon after the Civil War by using Black codes. These discriminatory state laws were an attempt to maintain the social and economic structure of racial slavery without slavery itself. The Black Codes severely limited the rights of African Americans, including their civil liberties such as the right to vote, sit on juries, own or carry weapons, and sometimes even the right to rent or lease land.
While the federal government and organizations like the Freedmen's Bureau attempted to protect and extend the rights of freed slaves, these state laws often undermined these efforts. The Black Codes varied from state to state but had the shared goal of preserving white supremacy through legal means. These actions led to the passage of federal measures like the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment in an attempt to combat these oppressive laws.
Despite federal intervention, the legacy of the Black Codes paved the way for further discriminatory practices, such as Jim Crow laws, which would continue to disenfranchise and segregate African Americans well into the 20th century.