True Black Political History

A History of Black Voting Rights

permission, serving on juries, or racially intermarrying. National observers at that time concluded that the South was simply trying to institute a new form of slavery through these Black Codes. This tactic was obvi ous to African-Americans, thus causing black US Rep. Joseph H. Rainey (Republican from sc ) to quip: “I can only say that we love freedom more – vastly more – than slavery; consequently we hope to keep clear of the Democrats!” Southern Democrats went well beyond Black Codes, however, and also imposed forced racial segregation. In 1875 , Tennessee became the first State to do so, and by 1890 several other south ern States had followed. As a result, schools, hospitals, public transportation, restaurants, etc., became segregated. (Even though the Republican Congress had already passed laws banning segregation, the US Supreme Court struck down those anti segregation laws in a series of decisions in the 1870 s and 1880 s) 6. Bizarre gerrymandering Once the Democrats regained State legislatures at the end of Reconstruction, they began to

In 1812 , Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry reluctantly signed a bill creating a district designed so that a Democrat could win the seat. A local editor drew a head, wings, and feet on the district map and called it a “Gerryman der” (see above). Below is a recent district drawn by the Democratic legislature of Georgia to include only certain types of voters so that a Democratic candidate would win the seat.

The new 13 th congressional district of Georgia

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