Final answer:
White Southerners used intimidation tactics through white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan to suppress African American and Republican voters, committing violence, burning schools, and using fraud to maintain white supremacy.
Step-by-step explanation:
To intimidate African Americans and white Republicans in the South, white Southerners, particularly Democrats, turned to white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, the Redshirts, and the White League. These groups used violence to suppress the political participation of African Americans and Republicans, resorting to tactics such as assaulting individuals attempting to vote, threats, beatings, and even political assassinations. The aim was to preserve white supremacy and reverse the gains made during Reconstruction. Women also participated indirectly by sewing red flannel shirts and adorning red ribbons, symbols of their political allegiance with the Redshirts. Even educational progress was targeted, with such groups burning public schools to prevent African American education. Additionally, fraud and deception were employed to manipulate election outcomes, contributing to the collapse of Reconstruction efforts.