What was the purpose of a poll tax?
A. to prevent African Americans from voting in elections
B. to keep Republican governments out of southern states
C. to ensure that disenfranchised voters can vote in elections
D. to prevent sharecroppers from leaving their farms with unpaid debts
A. to prevent African Americans from voting in elections
The purpose of a poll tax was to prevent African Americans from voting in elections.
The purpose of a poll tax was to prevent African Americans from voting in elections. To arrive at this answer, we can examine the historical context of the poll tax and its impact on voting rights.
A poll tax is a tax levied on individuals in order for them to be eligible to vote. It was commonly used in the southern states of the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The implementation of the poll tax had a discriminatory intent, with the explicit goal of disenfranchising African American voters and reducing their political influence.
By imposing a financial burden on potential voters, the poll tax effectively prevented many African Americans, especially those with limited financial resources, from exercising their right to vote. It was often accompanied by additional barriers such as literacy tests and grandfather clauses, creating a system of voter suppression that disproportionately affected African Americans.
While there were other reasons for implementing the poll tax, such as generating revenue for local governments, its primary purpose was to suppress African American voting rights. Consequently, the correct answer is A. to prevent African Americans from voting in elections.