Question

"[The registrar] brought a big old book out there, and he gave me the sixteenth section of the constitution of Mississippi, . . . I could copy it like it was in the book, but after I got through copying it, he told me to give a reasonable interpretation and tell the meaning of the section I had copied. Well, I flunked out." Source: A History of the United States since 1861

A) The main intent of the literacy test described in the passage was to?
B) encourage reform of the political system
C) encourage Mississippi residents to learn about their state’s legal system
D) prevent African Americans from exercising a basic right
E) enforce the provisions of the United States Constitution

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is D) prevent African Americans from exercising a basic right.

Explanation:

The 15th Amendment granting African-American men the right to vote . However, by the late 1870s, discriminatory practices were used to prevent blacks from exercising their right to vote, especially in the South. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed the discriminatory practices at the state and local levels.