Question

Which of the following best explains the impact of post-Reconstruction political leadership on African Americans in South Carolina?
A. African Americans lost almost all political power during the Bourbon era, but slowly regained that power through Tillmanism.
B. African Americans lost almost all political power through intimidation and corruption.
C. African Americans lost almost all political power because White voters began dominating the Republican Party.
D. African Americans were able to retain some political power during the Bourbon era under Governor Chamberlain.

Answer 1

B.

After Reconstruction white Democratic "Redeemers" (the Bourbons) used organized intimidation (rifle clubs/Red Shirts, violence, threats), fraud, and later legal devices (poll taxes, literacy tests, the 1895 constitution) to strip African Americans of almost all political power.