What was the practice of poll taxes based upon during reconstruction?

During Reconstruction, poll taxes were implemented primarily as a means to disenfranchise African American voters and, in some cases, poor white voters. These taxes required individuals to pay a fee in order to vote, which effectively limited access to the electoral process for those who could not afford to pay. The practice was rooted in the broader goals of white supremacist groups and Southern lawmakers to maintain control over the political landscape following the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Ultimately, poll taxes became symbolic of systemic racism and were later outlawed by the 24th Amendment and the Supreme Court in the 1960s.