2.1.2
Voting Rights
Voting Rights
Voting Rights
Under the Fifteenth Amendment, black people had the legal right to vote.
Voter intimidation
Voter intimidation
- White supremacists used violence to intimidate black voters and stop them from voting.
- Ballot papers signed by black people were destroyed and black people were told that their papers had been eaten by mules.
- White statesmen redefined state borders to exclude black voters from their district.
Poll Tax
Poll Tax
- A Poll Tax was created in the South to prevent black people from voting.
- A poll tax creates a set amount of tax that is required to be paid by all citizens, regardless of their wage.
- The poorest people suffer the most as they have to pay the same as the rich but they have lower incomes.
- The poll tax became an eligibility criterion for gaining the right to vote in some Southern states.
- This was very successful in denying black people the vote.
- In Arkansas in 1890, 71% of black people voted compared to only 9% after the poll tax was introduced.
The 'Grandfather Clause'
The 'Grandfather Clause'
- Despite the Fifteenth Amendment, many Southern States still tried to disenfranchise (withhold the vote from) black people. They did this in many ways:
- One way is known as the ‘Grandfather Clause’.
- This clause stated that black people were only eligible for the vote if their grandfather has been authorised to vote.
Literacy tests
Literacy tests
- Many Southern States refused black people the vote if they did not pass a literacy and reading test.
- Segregation meant it was harder for black people to access education. On top of this, the administrators found ways to fail even those black people who passed.
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
Jump to other topics
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
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