Why did white Southern Democrats disenfranchise black men?

A. they feared the consequences of African Americans having political power

Southerners argued that giving the poor workers the right to vote would destroy society, so the government should remain in the hands of the best representatives of society. Their argument was that allowing workers to vote means leading to a redistribution of wealth. Republican politicians will appease black voters by adhering to a policy that will provide jobs and service for blacks, they said. Former slaves will be ready for anything if only not to work in the agriculture for a low salary, so that the real production needed by the South will be replaced by unproductive, but highly paid government posts.

Explanation:

Republicans unconditionally supported the Reconstruction, which called for the upholding of suffrage for black men in the former states of the Confederation "for reasons of public safety and justice." However, the desire to give former slaves the right to vote found opponents not only in the South. Grant believed that the northerners would not like the provision of voting rights to blacks. This circumstance explained the presence of provisions designed to hold the votes of dissatisfied northerners in the republican platform, namely: the issue of suffrage in all loyal states properly belongs to the people of these states. Since the southern democrats were mostly "deeply calculating abolitionists," they regarded the Blacks solely as an instrument of pressure on the 'unreliable' white southerners and did not intend to provide real assistance to the former slaves. Democrats shied away from solving the problem, noting that the issue should be considered only after the restoration of the southern states in their rights. However, in their platform, they demanded the introduction of control over the process of granting voting rights to all male citizens, which meant the establishment of obstacles for black voters.