Voting Rights, Black Codes and Jim Crow Law

A return to slavery?

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Removal of Voting Rights

The 15th Amendment removed “race, color or previous condition of servitude” as obstacles to voting

So how did the southern states do it?

Grandfather clauses Poll taxes Harassment and

violence (KKK) Literacy tests

Sample Questions from a Literacy TestState of Louisiana

One wrong answer denotes failure of the test. 1. Draw a line around the number or letter of this sentence.

2. Draw a line under the last word in this line.3. Cross out the longest word in this line.4. Draw a line around the shortest word in this line.5. Circle the first, first letter of the alphabet in this line.6. In the space below draw three circles, one inside the

other.7. Above the letter X make a small cross.8. Draw a line through the letter below that comes earliest

in the alphabet. ZVSEDGMKYTPHC9. Draw a line through the letter below that comes last in

the alphabet. ZVSEDGMKYTPHC10. In the space below write the word noise backwards and

place a dot over what would be its second letter should it have been written forward.

11. Give your age in days.

Sample Literacy Test - Alabama

1. A United State senator elected in November take office the following year on what date?

2. The Constitution limits the size of the District of Columbia to what?

3. The electoral vote for president is counted in the presence of what two bodies?

4. Of the 13 original states, the one with the most representation in Congress was which?

5. If the election of the president becomes the duty of the House, and it fails to act, who becomes president, and when?

6. If a state is a party to a case, the Constitution provides that original jurisdiction shall be in what court?

7. If an effort to impeach the president of the United States is made, who presides at the trial?

8. When the Constitution was approved by the original colonies, how many states had to ratify it in order for it to be in effect?

9. Persons opposed to swearing an oath may say instead, “I solemnly ____?”

10. If it were proposed to join Alabama and Mississippi to form one state, what groups would have to vote approval for this to be done?

Denying basic citizenship

The 14th Amendment had guaranteed the “privileges and immunities” of citizenship, “due process” and “equal protection of the laws” to everyone.

Yet southern states ignored it. How?

Black Codes Jim Crow Laws

Why didn’t the federal government intervene?

The final clause of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments:

“The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this

article.”