African-American VotingBy: Casey Kyles

&Destinee Blow

Plessy vs. Ferguson Plessy vs. Ferguson was a landmark decision of

the Supreme Court of the United States concerning racial segregation. In this 1896 ruling, the court established the policy of "separate but equal" public facilities for blacks and whites. The decision formed the basis of widespread segregation in the South for over 50 years.

Segregation Segregation is the separation of groups of people

by custom or by law. It is often based on differences of race, religion, wealth, or culture

After the Civil War ended, the northern states attempted to influence equality among the races throughout the South. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 and the Fifteenth Amendment of the United States granted African Americans the right to vote in the United States. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 deemed racial

Segregation cont.segregation illegal in any accommodations, and

federal troops throughout the South attempted to enforce this law

A series of Jim Crow laws began to be passed throughout the states, starting in 1876. These Jim Crow laws established “de jure” racial segregation in all public facilities.

Exodusters Exodusters were African American pioneers

who migrated from Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas in the years following the American Civil War (1861-1865). Most were former slaves who faced violence and discrimination in their old homes. The Exodusters took their name from the Book of Exodus in the Bible. The book describes the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, where they had been slaves.

DisfranchisementDisfranchisement dis|fran|chise|ment «dihs

FRAN chyz muhnt», noun. 1. To deprive of a privilege, an immunity, or a

right of citizenship, especially the right to vote; disenfranchise.

2. To deprive (a corporation, for example) of a privilege or franchise.

In the next few slides there will be examples of disfranchisement.

Poll Tax In the United States, poll taxes came into effect in southern

states between 188 and 1910. It resulted in the disfranchising of many blacks as well as

poor whites, because payment of the tax was a requirement for voting.

It was ruled unconstitutional in 1964 because it violated equality rights

The 24th amendment eventually prohibited the poll tax as a qualification for voting in federal elections

African American voters1890-1900

1890- this is the year when the poll taxes spread and resulted in a severe decrease in African American voter turnout.

In Louisiana, black voters were cut from 130,000 to 1,300 in a six year period

Many Black southerners migrated north for better educational and economic opportunities

As the black education declined so did their political influence

Literacy testThese tests were created to prevent blacks from voting

because most of them were illiterate. It also hindered some poor whites at one point because

some were uneducated.There were other different forms of testing in different

states to prevent blacks from voting such as jelly bean tests where blacks would have to guess how many jelly beans in a jar in order to vote.

The federal voting rights act of 165 helped put an end to the discrimination of voter’s eligibility

Grandfather ClauseEnacted in 1898 and lasted until 1915Originated in Louisiana and worked its way into

laws and constitutions in 7 other states by 1910Purpose was to negate the 15th Amendment of the

U.S. Constitution which allowed black men to votestated that “all men or lineal descendants of men

who were voters before 1867 did not have to meet the educational, property, or tax requirements for voting then in existence” which basically meant all whites could vote with no restrictions.

Grandfather Clause (cont)Formed in 1909, The National Association for

the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), mounted the first legal challenge to the Grandfather Clause. 

The court case, Guinn v. United States, reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1915.  The Court ruled that Grandfather Clauses in Maryland and Oklahoma were unsound and invalid because they violated the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Grandfather Visual

Sources http://answers.yourdictionary.com/history/US-history/when-did-se

gregation-start.html http://worldbookonline.com/student/search?st1=examples+of+seg

ration+in+1896&searchprop=WBS

http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/grandfather-clause-1898-1915http://www.google.com/imageshttp://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0839551.html

THE END!!