Question

question 1 of 10

what was one method southern states used to stop black people from voting?

a. southern states required black voters to prove their identity.
b. southern states charged a fee to register to vote.
c. southern states closed polls at lunch and at dinner times.
d. southern states made it illegal for black people to vote.

Explanation:

Analyze the historical context of voting restrictions

Using the Disenfranchisement and Jim Crow Laws knowledge points

Following the Reconstruction Era, Southern states implemented various legal measures to systematically restrict African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment.

Evaluate the options based on historical evidence

Using the Disenfranchisement knowledge point

• Option A: Requiring modern forms of identity proof was not a primary legal mechanism used during the Jim Crow era to prevent voting.
• Option B: Southern states enacted poll taxes, which were fees that citizens had to pay in order to register to vote. This disproportionately affected low-income Black citizens.
• Option C: Closing polls during lunch or dinner was not a standardized legal method used for disenfranchisement.
• Option D: The Fifteenth Amendment made it unconstitutional to explicitly ban people from voting based on race, so states used indirect methods like poll taxes and literacy tests instead of outright bans.

Identify the correct option

Using the Disenfranchisement knowledge point

Charging a fee to register to vote (a poll tax) is the correct historical method described among the choices.

Answer:

• (A) Southern states required Black voters to prove their identity.
• (B) Southern states charged a fee to register to vote. (Correct answer)
• (C) Southern states closed polls at lunch and at dinner times.
• (D) Southern states made it illegal for Black people to vote.