Question

South Carolina Constitution of 1868
• Gave African Americans more rights
• Allowed people without property to hold office
• Gave women more rights (but not voting rights)
• Made education the responsibility of the state

The state Constitution of 1868 gave more rights to people who did not own land. Which answer best describes how this was important to Reconstruction in South Carolina?
A.
Freed African Americans usually did not own land.
B.
Women at this time were not allowed to own land.
C.
Whites had to sell their land after the Civil War.
D.
South Carolina's land was destroyed in the Civil War.

Answer 1

A. Freed African Americans usually did not own land.

Explanation: After emancipation most freedmen were landless; allowing people without property to hold office enabled many African Americans to gain political power during Reconstruction.