Question
Why did Southern states use poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses as Reconstruction came to an end?
a. to maintain Republican control of state governments
b. to keep African Americans from voting
c. to ensure voters would remain loyal to the union
d. to keep poor white Southerners from voting
a. to maintain Republican control of state governments
b. to keep African Americans from voting
c. to ensure voters would remain loyal to the union
d. to keep poor white Southerners from voting
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The correct answer is **b. to keep African Americans from voting**.
After the Reconstruction era, Southern states implemented poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses as discriminatory measures aimed at disenfranchising Black voters and maintaining white supremacy in the electoral process. These laws were designed to circumvent the legal protections afforded to African Americans and to ensure that white citizens could retain political power in the aftermath of the Civil War.
After the Reconstruction era, Southern states implemented poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses as discriminatory measures aimed at disenfranchising Black voters and maintaining white supremacy in the electoral process. These laws were designed to circumvent the legal protections afforded to African Americans and to ensure that white citizens could retain political power in the aftermath of the Civil War.