What tactics did white Southerners use to strip African American men of the vote after Reconstruction?

• A. They revised state constitutions and implemented poll taxes and other race-blind provisions.
• B. They expanded federal oversight and protected voting rights.
• C. They granted universal suffrage to Black citizens.
• D. They built new schools to promote literacy.

Answer: (A)

Disenfranchisement of Black men in the post–Reconstruction era came through state-level changes that looked neutral but were designed to exclude Black voters. White Southerners rewrote state constitutions to tighten the rules for voting and then added measures such as poll taxes and literacy tests that disproportionately affected African Americans. Other provisions—like property or residency requirements, and sometimes grandfather clauses—were crafted to preserve white eligibility while blocking Black citizens from the ballot. These tactics exploited loopholes and the appearance of fairness to undermine the 15th Amendment, effectively stripping African American men of the vote. The other options describe actions that would protect or expand voting rights or promote education, not suppress them.