Question

Why did the Southern states use poll taxes literacy tests and grandfather Clauses as reconstruction came to an end

Answer 1

Southern states used poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses as Reconstruction came to an end in order to disenfranchise African Americans and uphold white supremacy. These restrictive measures were implemented to prevent newly freed slaves and other African Americans from voting and participating in the political process. The poll taxes and literacy tests were designed to place financial and educational barriers in the way of African Americans seeking to vote, while grandfather clauses allowed whites to bypass these requirements if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote before the Civil War. These tactics were part of a broader strategy to maintain white dominance in the South and prevent African Americans from gaining political power.