A literacy test was an 'intelligence' test that was administered to black people trying to vote. The question on it were aimed at white people, things like presidencies and, generally things that would be awkward for someone of different culture to answer. Even if any black people passed, they would usually get beaten up or even lynched if they tried to vote. It was a lose-lose situation.
they disfranshised blacks by: making them pay to vote, pass a literacy test, and understand the state constitution.
Poll tax, literacy test,terrorism,and Jim Crow Laws
The most direct effect of poll taxes and literacy tests on African Americans was to prevent them from voting. Poll taxes were part of Jim Crow laws.
Blacks could vote if 1. They could read (they had to pass a literacy test) 2. Their grandfather was not a slave (this limited the number of freedmen that could vote)
literacy test
they disfranshised blacks by: making them pay to vote, pass a literacy test, and understand the state constitution.
Poll tax, literacy test,terrorism,and Jim Crow Laws
The most direct effect of poll taxes and literacy tests on African Americans was to prevent them from voting. Poll taxes were part of Jim Crow laws.
Blacks could vote if 1. They could read (they had to pass a literacy test) 2. Their grandfather was not a slave (this limited the number of freedmen that could vote)
The 15th Amendment, passed after the Civil War in 1870, prohibits the government ... Did you know? ... In the ensuing decades, various discriminatory practices including poll taxes and literacy tests—along with Jim Crow laws, ... of the non-white population had not registered to vote and authorized the U.S. .
literacy test
They authorized Jim Crow Laws that limited segregated freedmen (former slaves) from whites. Also, the made black codes that made blacks act a certain way. They made poll taxes and literacy test to stop blacks from voting.
After the Reconstruction period ended after the American Civil War, Democrats retook the governments of Souther States and worked hard to deny Blacks many civil liberties including the right to vote. These were called Jim Crow Laws. The racist laws were overturned by Sen. Everett Dirksen and others in the 1960s.
A test required for voting.
A literacy test has never been illegal in and of itself. Requiring voters to pass literacy tests in order to vote was declared unconstitutional. It is unconstitutional because all citizens have the right to vote, regardless of their level of literacy. But the main point was that southern states used these laws as a method to prevent black voters from participating.
Literacy tests were abolished officially in 1965.
Made it easier to enforce a literacy test requirement for voting