Mississippi Constitution of 1890 Invents Modern Disfranchisement Toolkit

Mississippi's 1890 constitutional convention designed the template for Black disfranchisement that every other Southern state copied: poll taxes, literacy tests, understanding clauses, grandfather clauses, felon disenfranchisement, and residency requirements. US Senator James Z. George openly stated the convention's goal was Black disfranchisement while maintaining the form of the 15th Amendment.