Question

What was the purpose of the poll tax?

Answer 1

The tax emerged in some states of United States in the late 19th century as part of the Jim Crow laws. After the right to vote was extended to all races by the enactment of the fifteenth amendment to the United states constitution a number of states enacted poll tax laws as a device for restricting voting rights.

Answer 2

The purpose of the poll tax was to decrease African-American participation in voting. Poll taxes charged money to people in order for them to be able to vote in an election. Southern states passed poll taxes as part of Jim Crow laws that were designed to limit African-American participation in public life after they were granted full citizenship rights under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Often the poll tax included a ''grandfather clause'', where those men whose fathers or grandfathers had voted prior to a certain year (before African-Americans were given the right to vote) were exempt from the tax. Poll taxes were prohibited by the 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964.