After the American civil war in 1865, literacy test and poll taxes had an important impact on the poor and African Americans, who were not allowed to vote in spite of the 15th amendment, which was only address until 1960’s by the federal government. Moreover, poll taxes, a payment required before voting, kept African Americans from exercising their legal rights.
Disenfranchisement measures such as poll taxes and literacy tests were put into place by white elites. These measures made voting almost impossible for the poor and the uneducated. They kept blacks and poor whites from voting.
The <span>original 13 colonies were governed very "loosely" before they joined together to form one nation--with the Articles of Confederation giving the federal government practically no power over the states. </span>
