-
Only white male adult property-owners have the right to vote.
Only white male adult property-owners have the right to vote. -
Last religious prerequisite for voting is eliminated
-
Almost all adult white males could vote.
Property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850. Almost all adult white males could vote -
Period: to
voting rights
-
the nation's first literacy test is adopted
-
15th Amendment is passed
The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race. -
Florida adopts a poll tax
Florida adopts a poll tax. Ten other southern states will implement poll taxes. -
Mississippi adopts a literacy test
Mississippi adopts a literacy test to keep African Americans from voting. Numerous other states—not just in the south—also establish literacy tests. However, the tests also exclude many whites from voting. To get around this, states add grandfather clauses that allow those who could vote before 1870, or their descendants, to vote regardless of literacy or tax qualifications. -
17th Amendment calls for members
The 17th Amendment calls for members of the U.S. Senate to be elected directly by the people instead of State Legislatures. -
Oklahoma was the last state to append a grandfather clause
Oklahoma was the last state to append a grandfather clause to its literacy requirement (1910). In Guinn v. United States the Supreme Court rules that the clause is in conflict with the 15th Amendment, thereby outlawing literacy tests for federal elections. -
19th Amendment guarantees women's suffrage
The 19th Amendment guarantees women's suffrage
