What did poll taxes literacy tests and grandfathers have in common?

Answer 1

Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were all discriminatory practices used primarily in the southern United States to disenfranchise African American voters and, in some cases, poor white voters after the Reconstruction era. Poll taxes required individuals to pay a fee to vote, while literacy tests assessed reading and comprehension skills, often with unfair standards. Grandfather clauses allowed individuals to bypass these restrictions if their ancestors had the right to vote before the Civil War, effectively exempting many white voters while still disenfranchising Black citizens. Together, these measures reinforced systemic racism and inequality in the electoral process.