This is the tenth installment of the Untold Series where I look at some of the most important civil rights cases. I quickly unpack their stories and why I believe they are significant. This series is an adaption to an ad hoc seminar I created while a student at Duke University School of Law.
This video looks at Guinn v. United States, which dealt with voting rights and the use of the Grandfather Clause. One year after the state of Oklahoma was adopted into the union, it amended its constitution to require literacy test for those wishing to register to vote. Oklahoma included a grandfather clause in the law that allowed those who couldn’t pass the literacy test to still vote if they were able to vote on or before January 1, 1866, or if one of their ancestors (i.e. grandfather, father, etc.) OR if they or one of their ancestors were a citizen of a foreign nation on or before January 1, 1866. The Supreme Court had to decide if this Grandfather clause was constitutional or violated the 15th Amendment.
If You Want to Learn More:
Book: On Account of Race: The Supreme Court, White Supremacy, and the Ravaging of African American Voting Rights, by Lawrence Goldstone
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
