Page 1 |
Previous | 1 of 19 | Next |
|
This page
All
Subset |
[CHAPTER 45]
[Page 1]
Negro Suffrage, 1900-1940.
The suffrage requirements of the Constitution of 1898 remained in force for more than a decade. The State Constitutional Convention of 1913 allowed it to remain upon the statute books, but the decision of the United States Supreme Court which invalidated the grandfather clause on June 21, 1915, made necessary some other means by which Negroes could be prevented from participating in Democratic primaries.
The Constitutional Convention of 1921 took steps to accomplish this by substituting an “understanding clause” in the place of the old grandfather clause. In the registration of prospective voters this later ruling demanded that such applicant “shall be able to read any clause in this Constitution, or the Constitution of the United States, and give a reasonable interpretation thereof….”1 In addition to this, the constitution delegated to the Democratic party of the State the power of prescribing “additional qualifications” for persons who wished to participate in primary nominations and elections. 2 The “additional qualification” which struck hard at the roots of the political hopes of the Negro was that all party activities be limited to white persons.3
The registration laws of the Constitution of 1921 made it increasingly difficult for Negroes to qualify themselves as electors, and even when qualified as such, they could vote only in presidential elections, and Republican primary nominations and elections. Where there was no Republican nominee there was no Negro vote. Being excluded
Object Description
Description
Tags
Comments
Post a Comment for Page 1
