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             state laws that denied citizens equal protection under the law. the 15th
             amendment, which was passed in 1870, prohibited racial discrimination in
             voting. Congress also passed a number of "enforcement acts"designed to
             However, by 1877 the democratic party had regained control of the
             southern states, ending reconstruction. The strides that blacks had made,
             holding political offices, having the right to vote, and participating as equal
             members of society, were reversed. With the Democrats in power, the south
             gradually re-imposed racially discriminatory laws. In order to take away
             black political power gained during reconstruction, the democratic party in
             the south began to prevent them from voting. There were a variety of
             methods to stop blacks from voting, including poll taxes, fees which were
             charged at voting booths that most blacks could not afford, and literacy test,
             which required that voters were able to read and write. Since it had been
             illegal to teach slaves how to read, most adult former slaves were illiterate.
             The democrats also began to create a segregated society that separated blacks
             from whites in almost every sphere of life. They passed laws that created
             separate schools and separate facilities.
             In addition the supreme court turned its back on racial equality. In the civil
             rights cases, the court declared that congress had no power to prevent private
             ...