Final answer:
African Americans were the target of efforts to limit voting rights through poll taxes and literacy tests, particularly in the southern United States, as a means to disenfranchise them after the end of Reconstruction.
Step-by-step explanation:
Attempts to limit votes through poll taxes and literacy tests were chiefly targeted at African Americans in the southern United States, particularly after the end of Reconstruction. These tactics included burdensome fees and tests that were unfairly administered, ensuring that many African Americans could not exercise their right to vote. For example, the notorious use of literacy tests, which were often more stringent for African Americans, and the imposing of poll taxes, which posed a significant financial burden, worked together to disenfranchise Black voters. States also created provisions like the grandfather clause, which exempted whites from these voting restrictions, thus solidifying racial discrimination in the electoral process.
Legislation like the 24th Amendment, which barred poll taxes in federal elections, and the Signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited literacy tests and dispatched federal examiners to aid in the registration of black voters, were historical measures taken to protect and enforce the voting rights of African Americans. These actions were pivotal in the push towards securing equal voting rights for all citizens, irrespective of race or ethnicity.