What system prevented African Americans from gaining full rights in the post-Civil War South?

The system that significantly hindered African Americans from attaining full rights in the post-Civil War South was the Black Codes. These laws were enacted by Southern states after the Civil War and aimed to restrict the newly acquired liberties of African Americans. The Black Codes sought to maintain white supremacy and control over the Black population by imposing severe regulations on their labor, movements, and civil rights.

For instance, the Black Codes included provisions that mandated labor contracts, imposed penalties for unemployment, and negated the right to vote or serve on juries, effectively creating a legal framework that perpetuated racial discrimination and economic exploitation. The primary goal of these codes was to ensure that African Americans remained in a subordinate social and economic position, thus undermining the fundamental changes that had been intended by the Reconstruction efforts.

While Jim Crow Laws also played a crucial role in institutionalizing racial segregation and discrimination later on, the Black Codes were foundational in establishing the legal barriers that African Americans faced immediately after the war, laying the groundwork for the systemic racism that would persist for decades.