Question
Why did southern states use poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses as reconstruction came to an end?
To keep poor white southerners from voting
To maintain republican control of state governments
To ensure voters would remain loyal to the union
To keep african Americans from voting
To keep poor white southerners from voting
To maintain republican control of state governments
To ensure voters would remain loyal to the union
To keep african Americans from voting
Answers
GPT 3.5
The main reason southern states used poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses as Reconstruction came to an end was to keep African Americans from voting. These measures were implemented as part of a larger system of laws and practices known as Jim Crow laws designed to enforce racial segregation and disenfranchise African Americans. The use of these tactics was also intended to maintain white supremacist ideology and prevent African Americans from gaining political power in the post-Reconstruction South. Additionally, these measures also served to keep poor white southerners from voting, as they were often disenfranchised by the same measures intended to target African Americans.