Why did Southern states use poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses as Reconstruction came to an end?

Question

a. to keep poor white Southerners from voting
b. to keep African Americans from voting
c. to ensure voters would remain loyal to the Union.
d. to maintain Republican control of state governments

Answer 1

b. to keep African Americans from voting

Southern states used poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses after Reconstruction primarily to disenfranchise African American voters and, to some extent, poor white voters. These measures were implemented to circumvent the legal rights granted to African Americans and to maintain white supremacy in the political system.