Question

Why do you think limiting access to voting has been important to some people for so long? Think back to the time after Reconstruction AND today.

Answer 1

Limiting voting access has been a method to maintain existing power structures, used after Reconstruction with literacy tests and poll taxes, and continues today through voter ID laws and gerrymandering.

Step-by-step explanation:

Limiting access to voting has been an ongoing issue both after the Reconstruction era and in today's society. Voting restrictions have historically been used to maintain the power structures of the time by controlling which groups could participate in the political process. During the Reconstruction period, measures such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and the grandfather clause were used to prevent African Americans from voting. Similarly, in recent times, voter suppression efforts, such as restrictive voter ID laws, reduction of polling places, and gerrymandering continue to pose challenges to voting access. Despite constitutional amendments and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, efforts to limit suffrage have persisted as a means to influence political outcomes and maintain the status quo.

Answer 2

Limiting voting access has been a method to maintain existing power structures, used after Reconstruction with literacy tests and poll taxes, and continues today through voter ID laws and gerrymandering.

Step-by-step explanation:

Limiting access to voting has been an ongoing issue both after the Reconstruction era and in today's society. Voting restrictions have historically been used to maintain the power structures of the time by controlling which groups could participate in the political process. During the Reconstruction period, measures such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and the grandfather clause were used to prevent African Americans from voting. Similarly, in recent times, voter suppression efforts, such as restrictive voter ID laws, reduction of polling places, and gerrymandering continue to pose challenges to voting access. Despite constitutional amendments and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, efforts to limit suffrage have persisted as a means to influence political outcomes and maintain the status quo.