Some ways that Southerners made life difficult for freed African Americans was by enacting poll taxes and literacy tests.
Southerners were still very against African Americans having rights, but since slavery was now illegal, they decided to come up with other ways to make their lives difficult. One of their main concerns was African Americans being able to vote, as this meant that they could vote for someone in power that could better their lives.
One of the things that Southerners would do to make freed African Americans' lives difficult was putting taxes on polls. Poll taxes meant that in order to vote or poll, you needed to pay a tax. African Americans were still trying to find jobs, as a lot of the time in the South, people were against hiring them. If they did find a job, they would get paid less. This often meant that they did not have the money to vote.
Another way that Southerners would make freed African Americans' lives difficult was by putting literacy tests on polls. Literacy tests meant that in order to vote or poll, you had to pass a literacy test. Freed African Americans usually could not read or write, as it was illegal to give a slave an education. Even after they got freed, they often would not have the time or money to receive an education. This would cause African Americans to fail the literacy tests and not be able to vote.
