![]() North Carolina's grandfather clause was modeled on a Louisiana statute, and similar versions appeared at roughly the same time in Alabama and Georgia. In practical terms, it meant that illiterate whites were absolved of the embarrassment of a literacy requirement and blacks were not, thus enhancing the discretionary power of Democratic registrars. ![]() The 1867 date was important because it preceded any federal prohibition of racial discrimination therefore very few blacks were eligible to vote. ![]() 1867, provided that he registered before 1 Dec. ![]() The answer to this problem was the grandfather clause, which stated that no one should be denied the right to register and vote because of the literacy requirement if he or a lineal ancestor could vote under the law of his state of residence on 1 Jan. The drafters of the amendment were aware of the politically unacceptable fact that illiterate whites could also be excluded by the literacy test. The large number of poor illiterate black males, as well as the bias of white Democratic registrars, ensured that the literacy test and the poll tax would be used to reduce the electorate. Far from attempting to encourage literacy, however, the primary goal of the amendment, as admitted in the Democratic Party's pro-amendment campaign in 1900, was to eliminate African American voters as a factor in North Carolina politics. The disfranchisement amendment provided that voters must be able to read and write a section of the state constitution in the English language and to pay a poll tax. The Grandfather Clause was an important component of the 1900 constitutional amendment restricting North Carolina's class of eligible voters. ![]()
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