Final answer:
Lincoln suggested owning property, being literate, or having served in the Union military as criteria to extend voting rights to some African Americans during Reconstruction. These measures were eventually undermined by Southern states through discriminatory practices such as poll taxes and literacy tests. The efforts to disenfranchise African Americans were countered by grandfather clauses to preserve white political power.
Step-by-step explanation:
President Abraham Lincoln suggested standards such as owning property, being able to read and write, or having served in the Union military for the purpose of extending voting rights to some black men during the provisional plans for Reconstruction after the Civil War. This was a significant step in the process of addressing citizenship and the civic inclusion of African Americans who had served the Union's cause and were deeply involved in shifting the meaning of the Civil War to encompass emancipation, freedom, and citizenship.
After the end of Reconstruction, however, many of the advances made by African Americans began to be rolled back by Southern states. Tactics such as property requirements, poll taxes, and literacy tests were used to effectively disenfranchise African American voters, despite the previous steps towards their enfranchisement.
These exclusionary practices were later supported by grandfather clauses, which exempted certain groups of whites from the new voting restrictions, ensuring their continued political power. This treatment starkly contrasts with Lincoln's earlier intentions to gradually include some African Americans in the voting populace, specifically Union veterans and others potentially meeting certain criteria.