AP US Government : Policy Agendas

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP US Government

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Policy Agendas

The Poll Tax was used primarily to __________.

Possible Answers:

prevent African Americans from voting in the Reconstruction-Era South

prevent any candidate from running for election over and over again

encourage African Americans to vote during and after the Civil Rights Era

prevent the poor and working class from voting in the early days of the Republic

ensure that those voting in elections were well educated

Correct answer:

prevent African Americans from voting in the Reconstruction-Era South

Explanation:

The Poll Tax emerged throughout the Reconstruction-Era South as a way for the governments in the South to avoid abiding by the Fifteenth Amendment. The Poll Tax stated that an individual had to pay a certain fee for registering and to vote, and it was used primarily to prevent African Americans from voting in the years after the end of the Civil War.

Example Question #2 : Public Policy

Jim Crow laws __________.

Possible Answers:

encouraged African Americans to vote during the Civil Rights Era.

were not supported by institutions of the United States Government

enforced racial segregation in the Reconstruction-Era South

were overturned by the Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson

prohibited African-American emancipation in the South prior to the Civil War

Correct answer:

enforced racial segregation in the Reconstruction-Era South

Explanation:

Jim Crow laws were a series of bills and rulings passed in the South, during the Reconstruction Era, which were designed to enforce racial segregation after the abolition of slavery. They differ from the Black Codes, which were used in the South prior to the Civil War to prevent African-American emancipation. The Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson (1890), reinforced the legality of Jim Crow laws by ruling that separate but equal was not unconstitutional. This ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

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