1800's Voting Rights

1800’s marked a time period in America of revolution and solidifying the true American idea of equality. African Americans were freed from a rugged system of slavery and given a slight beacon of light and elected the first African American representatives to public office.  Native Americans were also given a path to citizenship and voting rights from a long history of terror from American settlers.  All white men received the right to vote after the emancipation proclamation freeing slaves to compete with black American voters. 

1856: North Carolina became the second state to get rid of property requirements for white males, allowing all white males the right to vote. 

1866: The first Civil Rights Act granted citizenship to all native-born American, but not the right to vote.  This law did not include as American: Black people, Mexican people, Asians, Native Americans and Indians from India.

1866: the 14^th Amendment to the federal Constitution was passed guaranteeing citizenship to the former slaves and changing them from 3/5ths human being to equal human beings.

1869: Congress passes the fifteenth Amendment giving African American men the equal rights to vote.  It also marked the beginning of “Black Codes”, laws designed to keep black men and people in general from voting.

1870: Hiram Revels is the first African American elected to the US Senate and Joseph Hayne Rainey becomes the first African American member of the US House of Representatives.  Jasper J. Wright is elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Proving that African Americans have power when they vote and participate in American Government. 

1882: Congress Passes the Chinese Exclusion Act denying citizenship and voting rights to Chinese Americans.

1887: Congress passes the Dawes General Allotment Act giving citizenship only to those Native Americans who give up their tribal affiliation.

1890: The Indian Naturalization Act grants citizenship to Native Americans by an application process.

1896: The Grandfather Clause adopted by Louisiana Legislators disfranchises African American voters.  The percent of registered black voters drops from 44.8 percent in 1896 to 4 percent in 1900.