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The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 23, 1964, eliminated the poll tax. The amendment prohibits both Congress and state governments from requiring the payment of poll taxes or any other taxes as a qualification for voting in federal elections. This amendment was a significant step in the pursuit of civil rights, particularly for African Americans in the South who had long faced discriminatory laws and practices that restricted their voting rights. While the Fifteenth Amendment granted all American men the right to vote, the poll tax, which required voters to pay a fee to cast their ballots, was used as a method to disenfranchise African Americans and poor whites. The Twenty-fourth Amendment's ratification marked the culmination of a decades-long endeavour to eliminate the poll tax and ensure equal voting rights for all citizens.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Amendment | Twenty-fourth Amendment (Amendment XXIV) |
| Date Proposed | August 27, 1962 |
| Date Ratified | January 23, 1964 |
| Ratified by | Three-fourths of the state legislatures |
| Prohibits | Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax to vote in federal elections |
| Text | The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay a poll tax or other tax. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. |
| Affected States | Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia |
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What You'll Learn
The Twenty-fourth Amendment
The poll tax was a fee that voters were required to pay in order to enter polling places to cast their ballots. This disproportionately affected African Americans and poor whites in the Southern states, excluding many of them from voting. The poll tax was one of several types of laws that restricted voting rights, despite the Fifteenth Amendment granting the right to vote to all American men.
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Poll tax history
The poll tax was a fee that voters in the United States had to pay to enter polling places and cast their ballots. It was introduced in the late 19th century as part of a series of laws intended to exclude Black Americans from politics without violating the Fifteenth Amendment, which granted the right to vote to all American men. The poll tax disproportionately affected African Americans and poor white voters, and by 1902, all eleven states of the former Confederacy had enacted it.
In the late 1930s and 1940s, during the Roosevelt Administration, a more prominent wave of criticism towards the poll tax grew. In 1946, the Senate came close to passing a bill to end the poll tax, but it did not succeed due to opposition from non-southern Democrats and Republicans. Despite this setback, supporters of abolition continued to push for an end to the poll tax, and in 1962, President John F. Kennedy endorsed its elimination in his State of the Union address.
On August 27, 1962, Congress proposed the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited the federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes on voters during federal elections. The Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1964, marking the culmination of an endeavour that began in Congress in 1939. However, several states continued to maintain their poll taxes in opposition to the new law. It was not until the 1966 Supreme Court decision Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections that poll taxes were completely eliminated, as the Court ruled that poll taxes in all elections were unconstitutional.
The Twenty-fourth Amendment was a significant step in the pursuit of civil rights, coinciding with the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, which together ended legal segregation and discrimination in voting for all Americans.
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The Fifteenth Amendment
However, despite the Fifteenth Amendment's guarantees, Southern states sought to restrict the voting rights of African Americans through various means, including the imposition of poll taxes. Poll taxes required voters to pay a fee to enter polling places and cast their ballots. This had a disproportionate impact on African Americans, who were more likely to be living in poverty, as well as poor white voters. The poll tax, along with other discriminatory measures, was carefully crafted to avoid federal scrutiny and circumvent the protections afforded by the Fifteenth Amendment.
The use of poll taxes as a tool to disenfranchise black voters persisted for several decades, despite growing criticism and legal challenges. It was not until the passage of the Twenty-fourth Amendment in 1964 that poll taxes were officially abolished in federal elections. This amendment prohibited both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax as a condition for voting in federal elections. The Twenty-fourth Amendment marked the culmination of a long struggle for voting rights and helped to secure the franchise for African Americans and other marginalised groups.
It is worth noting that the Fifteenth Amendment and the subsequent efforts to undermine it, such as the poll tax, played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the United States. The struggle for voting rights highlighted the tensions between federal power and states' rights, as well as the enduring legacy of racism and discrimination in the country. The ultimate elimination of the poll tax through the Twenty-fourth Amendment was a crucial step towards ensuring that the right to vote was protected and accessible to all citizens, regardless of race or economic status.
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The Civil Rights Movement
The poll tax, which required voters to pay a fee to cast their ballots, was introduced in the late 19th century by Southern states as part of a series of laws intended to exclude Black Americans from politics without violating the Fifteenth Amendment. This amendment granted the right to vote to all American men, regardless of race, but the poll tax circumvented this by affecting poor people of all races, including both African Americans and poor white voters.
The movement to abolish the poll tax gained momentum during the Roosevelt Administration of the 1930s and 1940s, with growing criticism of the tax's discriminatory intent. Despite these efforts, the poll tax was upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court in the 1937 case of Breedlove v. Suttles. It wasn't until 1962 that President John F. Kennedy endorsed the elimination of poll taxes in his State of the Union address, and Congress passed the Twenty-fourth Amendment, specifically prohibiting the use of poll taxes in federal elections.
The Twenty-fourth Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1964, marking the culmination of a long endeavor to eliminate the poll tax as a voting qualification. However, even after its ratification, several states continued to impose poll taxes, arguing that the amendment only applied to federal elections and not state or local ones. It took a 1966 Supreme Court decision, Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, to finally rule that poll taxes in all elections were unconstitutional, completely eliminating them and taking another step towards civil rights.
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Supreme Court rulings
The Twenty-fourth Amendment, which was ratified on January 23, 1964, abolished poll taxes in federal elections. However, several states continued to impose poll taxes in state elections, in opposition to the new law. These remaining poll taxes were eliminated following the 1966 Supreme Court decision in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, which ruled that poll taxes in all elections were unconstitutional.
In Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, the Supreme Court found that Virginia's poll tax violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case was filed by Virginia resident Annie E. Harper, who was unable to register to vote without paying the poll tax. She brought the suit against the Virginia State Board of Elections on behalf of herself and other poor residents. Harper argued that the poll tax deprived eligible indigent Virginia residents of their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court's landmark decision, written by Justice William O. Douglas for the 6-3 majority, stated that "fee payments or wealth, like race, creed, or color, are unrelated to the citizen's ability to participate intelligently in the electoral process".
The 1966 ruling was significant as it officially abolished the last vestiges of poll taxes in the United States, ensuring that voting rights were no longer restricted based on wealth or economic status. This decision was celebrated as a victory for egalitarian democracy and a step towards civil rights, particularly for poor African American women, who had been disproportionately affected by poll taxes.
Prior to the Twenty-fourth Amendment and the Harper ruling, poll taxes had been upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1937 case of Breedlove v. Suttles, which ruled that poll taxes were within the powers of the states and did not violate the Constitution. However, by the 1960s, a wave of criticism had grown towards the poll tax, recognizing its discriminatory impact, especially on racial minorities and the poor.
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Frequently asked questions
The Twenty-fourth Amendment (Amendment XXIV) of the United States Constitution.
It prohibited both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax to vote in federal elections.
The Twenty-fourth Amendment was proposed by Congress to the states on August 27, 1962, and was ratified on January 23, 1964.
Poll taxes were introduced as a requirement for voting in the late 19th century to exclude Black Americans from politics without violating the Fifteenth Amendment. This disproportionately affected African Americans and poor white voters.
The amendment was an important step in the pursuit of civil rights, eliminating poll taxes as a qualification for voting in federal elections. However, it is important to note that it only applied to federal elections, and poll taxes in state and local elections were not explicitly banned.
