What did many African-Americans do as the quality of life continued to deteriorate in the South?

They would try to go north

Explanation:

Many tried to go north to escape the conditions in the south. Some men would try to get jobs on whaling ships where men were not usually judged by their color. They would go into hiding and switch names and information to make themselves harder to be tracked and returned to owners. Many took the underground railroad up north. Still some decided it was to risky to run away and stayed in the south. A few started rebellions but none of them had much success.

the answer would be c