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QuizMultiple Choice

African Americans and Reconstruction

Question 1 • (AG Q4) American History 8: 25-26 (AHostetler)

Which best explains why there were no African Americans serving in the US House of Representatives by 1887?

Answer
A
Many African American politicians had left office to work for the Freedmen’s Bureau.
B
Southern whites had worked to repeal laws that allowed African Americans to hold office.
C
African Americans were focusing on politics on the state level rather than the national level.
D
African American politicians mainly chose to run for the US Senate instead of the House.

Explanation

As Reconstruction ended, white Southerners regained political power and worked to restrict African Americans’ political rights, using measures such as intimidation and discriminatory laws to keep them from office. That best matches choice B. African Americans were not simply choosing state politics or the Senate; the growing barriers to political participation help explain why none served in the House by 1887.

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