What was the main purpose of these requirements?

The correct answer is B. To specify how former states of the Confederacy could rejoin the Union.

Explanation

The reconstruction laws of 1897 were a series of regulations that established the parameters that the Confederate States of the South had to follow to become part of the Union again. During this stage of reconstruction, the Condeferación had to agree to free the slaves, admit them as US citizens, and recognize their civil rights through the ratification of the 13th and 14th amendments. Initially, these states, despite having lost the war, did not have the will to agree to these conditions. However, the Reconstruction Act of 1897 forced them to comply with these mandates and reunify the entire nation. Some of the requirements are listed in the excerpt presented, therefore the correct answer is B. To specify how former states of the Confederacy could rejoin the Union.

the declaration states, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness….”