Final answer:
White Southerners reacted to African American resistance with violence and intimidation, seeing it as a threat to traditional social and economic structures.
Step-by-step explanation:
When African Americans resisted manipulation in the South, white Southerners often reacted with violence and intimidation against them. They saw the changes brought about by African American resistance as a threat to the traditional social and economic foundations of the South. Many white Southerners resented the presence of African Americans in positions of authority and referred to the period of reform as a time of 'negro misrule.'
When African Americans resisted manipulation and discrimination in the South, particularly during the era of Reconstruction and the civil rights movement, white southerners frequently reacted with violence and intimidation. This backlash was an effort to maintain the traditional social order and retaliate against perceived challenges to white supremacy. Acts of violence, such as those perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan, were tools used to suppress African American activism and reassert control.
Alongside physical violence, white southerners engaged in legal and political strategies to diminish African American gains. This included implementing Jim Crow laws, voter suppression tactics, and other forms of institutionalized racism. Despite facing such intense opposition, African Americans continued to fight for their rights through legal challenges and grassroots activism.
The answer to the question is therefore option 3: They used violence and intimidation against African Americans.