Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumThe New South and Jim Crow

“The manifestation of resentment of the Southern white man is not against the criminal, but against the progressive, self-respecting Afro-American, who is making an effort to rise. The real purpose of these outrages is to teach the Negro his place and to keep him in it, preventing him from acquiring wealth or political power.”

— Ida B. Wells, Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, 1892

Which of the following developments in the South during the late nineteenth century most directly resulted from the attitudes described in the excerpt?

  1. The implementation of state-level Jim Crow laws and voting restrictions to enforce racial hierarchyAnswer
  2. B
    The active enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment by the federal government to protect African American businesses
  3. C
    The passage of federal civil rights laws during Reconstruction to guarantee voting rights for formerly enslaved men
  4. D
    The growth of a Southern Populist movement that successfully united white and Black farmers into a single political party

Answer

The implementation of state-level Jim Crow laws and voting restrictions to enforce racial hierarchy
The correct answer is correct because the desire of Southern white elites to suppress African American economic progress and social mobility led directly to the codification of racial segregation (Jim Crow laws) and measures designed to deny Black citizens the franchise (such as poll taxes and literacy tests). This legal and social subordination was reinforced by vigilante violence and terror, as described by Ida B. Wells.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document to identify the author's argument.
Ida B. Wells argues that Southern white violence (outrages/lynching) was motivated by a desire to suppress African American economic progress, political power, and social advancement, maintaining white supremacy.
Understanding the core argument is necessary to connect it to broader historical trends.
2
Identify the historical context of the late nineteenth-century South (1880s-1890s).
Following the end of Reconstruction, Southern states established legal segregation (Jim Crow laws) and systematically disenfranchised Black voters through poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses.
This establishes the temporal and thematic connection to the question's target era.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the development that aligns with the goal of enforcing racial subordination.
The option describing Jim Crow laws and voting restrictions represents the primary institutional tool used to legally enforce the racial hierarchy and suppress Black progress, matching Wells's analysis.
This allows the student to select the most historically accurate and direct consequence of the described attitudes.

Key Concept

The consolidation of segregation and disenfranchisement in the post-Reconstruction South (Jim Crow era).
Rate this question

Topics

The New South and Jim Crow

More questions from this topic