State constitutions
were either amended or rewritten. Literacy tests and poll taxes
became standard devices for limiting Negro voting. The
"understanding test" required a citizen to interpret a portion of
the state constitution to the satisfaction of the registrar. The
severity of the test varied invariably with the color of the
applicant. The "grandfather clause" prohibited those whose
ancestors had not voted from exercising the franchise. Because
slaves had not voted, their descendants were disqualified.
Although the Fifteenth Amendment had been designed to guarantee
the vote to the ex-slave, the South now evaded it. Although both
major parties complained about this disenfranchisement and
condemned it as being unconstitutional, neither party took any
action. The Supreme Court also played an important part in
restricting the freedom of freedmen. In 1883 it declared the 1875
Civil Rights Act to be unconstitutional. This act had made it
illegal for individuals to discriminate in public accommodations.
Although it had never been enforced, the court's decision
nevertheless, came as a setback, because it was the signal to the
South that through Jim Crow legislation Negroes could be kept in
"their place.
Pages:
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183