Many Southern whites hoped to strip blacks of their voting rights as soon as Reconstruction ended, hoping to separate the races as much as possible. By 1870, when the 15th Amendment was passed and African Americans were given the right to vote, secret societies such as the Ku Klux Klan had already developed in the south. The KKK quickly gained notoriety for using violence and intimidation to stop African Americans from voting. However, enforced poll taxes and reading requirements also stopped many African Americans. Congress passed the Force Act in 1870 and the Ku Klux Klan Act in 1871, which made it a felony to prevent anyone from voting. From that point on, the KKK was weakened but continued to operate underground. This illustration by Thomas Nast of a skeleton holding a shot gun on the cover of the October 18, 1879 issue of Harper's Weekly, appeared in reference to the scare tactics of Southern whites that stopped African Americans from voting.

Investigate the source using the zoom and navigational tools in the Flash player and then answer the questions below.

1			What were the obstacles African Americans had to overcome to be able to vote after Reconstruction? Who supported African American's right to vote? Who did not?
2			What were the origins of the Ku Klux Klan and what did they stand for?
3			Who was president of the United States at the end of Reconstruction and how did his administration deal with secret societies and Democratic control of the South?