What was the MAIN goal of grandfather clauses such as this that were adopted in many states in the South?

Question

A. to ensure that Black citizens were able to exercise their right to vote by exempting them from restrictions on voting

B. to grant all men who lived in the United States when the clauses were made law the right to vote regardless of their wealth

C. to grant all people who lived in the United States when the clauses were made law the right to vote regardless of gender

D. to exempt white citizens from voting restrictions that were created to stop Black citizens from exercising their right to vote

Answer 1

The MAIN goal of grandfather clauses adopted in many Southern states was:

D. to exempt white citizens from voting restrictions that were created to stop Black citizens from exercising their right to vote.

Grandfather clauses allowed individuals to bypass certain voting requirements (like literacy tests or poll taxes) if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote before the Civil War. This effectively exempted many white voters from these restrictions while disenfranchising a significant number of Black voters.