What was the effect of the grandfather clause, the Eight Box Law and poll taxes in South Carolina?
The grandfather clause, the Eight Box Law, and poll taxes in South Carolina were all used as tactics to disenfranchise African Americans and poor whites, effectively limiting their ability to vote.
The grandfather clause was a policy that allowed individuals to vote only if their grandfathers had been registered voters before the Civil War. This effectively disenfranchised newly freed African Americans who did not have grandfathers who were able to vote prior to the Civil War.
The Eight Box Law was a complex voting process that required voters to correctly place a ballot in the correct box corresponding to a specific candidate or issue. This law was designed to confuse and disenfranchise illiterate voters, who were disproportionately African American and poor.
Poll taxes were fees that individuals had to pay in order to vote. This disproportionately affected poor individuals who could not afford to pay the tax, effectively disenfranchising them as well.
Overall, these tactics were used to suppress the voting rights of African Americans and poor whites in South Carolina, perpetuating systemic racial discrimination and inequality in the state.