which legal provision enabled illiterate white people to retain their voting rights in the south after the civil war
The legal provision that enabled illiterate white people to retain their voting rights in the South after the Civil War was known as the "grandfather clause." This clause was implemented as part of the state constitutions and voting laws in various Southern states between 1890 and 1910. It stated that if an individual's father or grandfather had been eligible to vote prior to the abolition of slavery or the enactment of voting restrictions, then that individual would also be eligible to vote, regardless of their own literacy or educational level. This provision effectively exempted illiterate white people from literacy tests or other voting requirements that were implemented to disenfranchise African Americans.
After the Civil War, the legal provision that enabled illiterate white people in the South to retain their voting rights was the "grandfather clause."
The legal provision that enabled illiterate white people to retain their voting rights in the South after the Civil War was called the "grandfather clause." To understand how it worked, let's break it down:
1. Context: After the Civil War, the 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870, granting the right to vote to all male citizens regardless of race or color.
2. Aim: However, some Southern states wanted to find ways to prevent African Americans from exercising their voting rights, even though they were technically granted by the 15th Amendment.
3. Purpose: The purpose of the grandfather clause was to exempt illiterate white voters from certain voting restrictions that Southern states implemented, mainly related to literacy tests.
4. Requirements: The clause stated that if a person's grandfather (or ancestor) had been eligible to vote before January 1, 1867, then the person would be exempt from the literacy tests or other voting restrictions.
5. Impact: This provision effectively allowed illiterate white voters to bypass the literacy requirement, as most of their grandfathers would have been eligible to vote before January 1, 1867.
6. Discrimination: The grandfather clause deliberately targeted African Americans because their grandfathers would not have been eligible to vote before 1867 due to slavery and restrictive laws at the time.
It's essential to note that the grandfather clause was eventually ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Guinn v. United States (1915). The court held that it violated the 15th Amendment by imposing discriminatory restrictions on voting rights.