Question

Identify two of the methods utilized to suppress African Americans from participation in our democracy in the late 1800s-1960s and explain how they worked.

Answer 1

African American participation in democracy was suppressed through literacy tests, which were administered subjectively to disqualify African Americans, and poll taxes, which economically burdened them, preventing them from voting.

Step-by-step explanation:

Two prominent methods used to suppress African American participation in democracy from the late 1800s to the 1960s were literacy tests and poll taxes. Literacy tests involved requiring voters to demonstrate the ability to read and interpret texts, often sections of the U.S. Constitution. These tests were administered subjectively, allowing officials to give more difficult passages to African Americans to prevent them from qualifying to vote.

Additionally, poll taxes were implemented as a prerequisite to vote. This meant that individuals had to pay a fee before being allowed to cast their ballot, disproportionately affecting African Americans who were more likely to be economically disadvantaged and thus unable to pay the tax.

These tactics were part of a broader series of discriminatory practices during the Jim Crow era, aimed at maintaining white supremacy and disenfranchising African Americans and other minority groups.