Literacy tests and poll taxes were written to let local officials disenfranchise black voters

Evidence

Southern states proceeded more systematically and successfully, to deprive African Americans of their vote. The Mississippi Constitution of 1890 called for a poll tax of two dollars. It also required (after January 1, 1892) that “every elector shall … be able to read any section of the constitution of this State; or … be able to understand the same when read to him, or give a reasonable interpretation thereof” (art. 12, secs. 243, 244). Local officials would know how to make good use of these provisions. Blacks, no matter how well educated, never seemed able to pass. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2063

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly supports the constitutional frame for the treatment of voting and race across the polyad; ties to how law encodes inequality, relevant to environmental/land exclusion narratives.
• XREF: connects to: The South purged Black voters through racially veiled literacy tests and poll taxes — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The…, 720; Claims about illegal votes targeted predominantly Black cities and voters — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 620; Mail-in voting restrictions and polling cuts disproportionately targeted Black voters — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 619 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• The South purged Black voters through racially veiled literacy tests and poll taxes #corroborates (0.95) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 720
• The literacy test was a respectable cover for racial discrimination #corroborates (0.92) — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 602
• State-level nullification included gerrymandering and vote suppression aimed at Black constituencies. #expands (0.82) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 655
• Claims about illegal votes targeted predominantly Black cities and voters #expands (0.75) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 620
• County-wide voting rules diluted black electoral power before redistricting #expands (0.75) — Dorothy A. Brown, Getting to Reparations, 42
• At-large election rules diluted black voting power until single-member districts replaced them #expands (0.75) — Dorothy A. Brown, Getting to Reparations, 42
• Mail-in voting restrictions and polling cuts disproportionately targeted Black voters #expands (0.72) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 619
• Standardized tests were designed by segregationists to legitimize racial exclusion #qualifies (0.72) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 1065
• Free Northern states legally barred Black people from voting, juries, land, and residence #expands (0.72) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1265
• Racialized urban voters are explicitly targeted by structural vote-suppression arguments #expands (0.70) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 658
• Racist ideas are produced to justify the policy alienation of Black nonvoters #complicates (0.70) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 1073
• Taxation without voting rights exposed the founding ambiguity over Black citizenship #expands (0.70) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 693