1 janv. 1898 - Williams v. mississippi allows poll taxes and literacy tests for voters

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An 1898 Supreme Court ruling that allowed states to impose poll taxes and literacy tests. By 1908, every southern state had adopted such measures to suppress voting by African Americans and some poor whites.

Having suppressed the political revolt, southern Democrats looked for new ways to enforce white supremacy. In 1890, a constitutional convention in Mississippi had adopted a key innovation: an “understanding clause” that required would-be voters to interpret parts of the state constitution, with local Democratic officials deciding who met the standard. After the Populist uprising — and after Republicans ceased their attempts to protect voting rights — such measures spread to other southern states. Louisiana’s grandfather clause, which denied the ballot to any man whose grandfather had been unable to vote in slavery days, was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. But in Williams v. Mississippi (1898), the Court allowed poll taxes and literacy tests to stand. By 1908, every southern state had adopted such measures to suppress African American voting — and exclude some poor whites from the polls as well.

The impact of disfranchisement can hardly be overstated (Map 19.3). Across the South, voter turnout plunged, from above 70 percent to 34 percent or even lower. Not only blacks but also many poor whites ceased to vote. Since Democrats faced virtually no opposition, action shifted to the “white primaries,” where Democratic candidates competed for nominations. Some former Populists joined the Democrats in openly advocating white supremacy. The racial climate hardened. Segregation laws proliferated. Lynching of African Americans increasingly occurred in broad daylight, with crowds of thousands gathered to watch.

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