Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) Social Science Practice Test

What change in voting rights was a significant issue in the southern states during the late 1800s?

1. Increased voting age restrictions

2. The use of literacy tests and grandfather clauses

3. Universal suffrage for all citizens

4. Voting by proxy provisions

The correct answer is: The use of literacy tests and grandfather clauses

The significant issue regarding voting rights in the southern states during the late 1800s revolved around the implementation of literacy tests and grandfather clauses. These measures were part of a broader system known as Jim Crow laws, which aimed to disenfranchise Black voters and maintain white supremacy in the political sphere following the Reconstruction era. Literacy tests were designed to be challenging and often arbitrary, requiring voters to demonstrate reading and writing proficiency that many poor and uneducated citizens, particularly African Americans, could not meet. Furthermore, grandfather clauses allowed individuals to bypass these literacy tests if their grandfathers had the right to vote before the Civil War, a provision that effectively excluded many descendants of enslaved individuals who had been denied voting rights. This systematic approach was not an attempt to broaden suffrage but rather a method to restrict it, contrasting sharply with the notion of universal suffrage. This focus on controlling voter eligibility in the South had long-lasting effects on the political landscape and civil rights movements that would follow in the 20th century.