Question

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

(1 point)

to maintain Republican control of state governments

to keep poor white Southerners from voting

to keep African Americans from voting

to ensure voters would remain loyal to the Union

Answer 1

to keep African Americans from voting

These measures were used to disenfranchise Black voters after Reconstruction—poll taxes, literacy tests (often applied arbitrarily), and grandfather clauses (which exempted illiterate whites) were designed to evade the 15th Amendment and restore white Democratic control.