Racial Distinctions in Southern Law

Gilbert Thomas Stephenson

doi:10.2307/1944845

Racial Distinctions in Southern Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2013

Gilbert Thomas Stephenson

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The suffrage clauses recently adopted by six of the Southern States, beginning with Mississippi in 1890 and ending with Virginia in 1902, have disqualified for the elective franchise a majority of the negroes of voting age without appreciably diminishing the possible number of white voters. In other words, there have been racial distinctions in the matter of suffrage without their being so defined in the letter of the law. Now, the question is: Are these suffrage distinctions the only racial distinctions found in the Southern law, either expressed or implied, or are they only members of a group of such distinctions which have been evolving since the negro has been a free man? In this paper it shall be my aim to show briefly that the latter is the case, that there are other racial distinctions recognized in the Southern law, that some of the distinctions once present in Southern codes and constitutions have since been dropped, and that others have been introduced from time to time. And by making the suffrage distinctions only links of a chain, I hope that we shall arrive at some conclusion as to the trend of Southern legislation with regard to the negro.

The general subject of racial distinctions is practically limitless in extent. Many of these distinctions are as intangible as race prejudice itself and take various methods of expression. Instead, therefore, of undertaking a general discussion of this inexhaustible subject, I shall narrow it to more manageable proportions by treating only one of its many phases.

Type: Research Article
Information: American Political Science Review , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , November 1906 , pp. 44 - 61

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1944845 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © American Political Science Association 1906

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References

^{page 46 note 1} Constitution, 1865, Art. II, sec. 5.

^{page 46 note 2} Constitution, 1865, Art. VIII.

^{page 46 note 3} Constitution, 1866, Art. VIII.

^{page 46 note 4} Code of Alabama, 1896, sec. 2, p. 112; Statutes of Arkansas, 1894, sec. 6229, p. 1375; Laws of Florida, 1865, p. 30; Laws of Georgia, 1865–66, p. 239; Laws of Missouri, 1864, p. 67; Laws of South Carolina, 1865, p. 271; Laws of Tennessee, 1865–66, p. 65; Laws of Texas, 1884, p. 40.

^{page 46 note 5} Laws of Tennessee, 1865–66, p. 65.

^{page 46 note 6} Statutes of Arkansas, 1894, p. 1375.

^{page 46 note 7} Laws of South Carolina, 1865, p. 271.

^{page 47 note 1} Laws of Alabama, 1899, p. 135; Laws of Florida, 1866, p. 22; Laws of Georgia, 1866, p. 156; Laws of South Carolina, 1865, p. 291; Laws of Tennessee, 1865–66, p. 65; Laws of Virginia, 1865, p. 85.

^{page 47 note 2} Laws of Kentucky, 1865–66, p. 37.

^{page 47 note 3} Laws of Maryland 1867, p. 858.

^{page 47 note 4} Laws of Florida, 1865, p. 31.

^{page 47 note 5} Laws of Missouri, 1864, p. 68.

^{page 47 note 6} Laws of Mississippi, 1865, pp. 86–90.

^{page 47 note 7} Laws of South Carolina, 1865, pp. 292–295.

^{page 47 note 8} Laws of Kentucky, 1865, pp. 49–50.

^{page 47 note 9} Laws of North Carolina, 1874–75, p. 92.

^{page 48 note 1} Laws of Florida, 1865, pp. 32–33; Laws of Kentucky, 1866, p. 52; Laws of Mississippi, 1865, pp. 83–84; Laws of South Carolina, 1865, pp. 299, et seq.; Laws of Virginia, 1865–66, p. 83.

^{page 49 note 1} Laws of Tennessee, 1865, p. 23.

^{page 49 note 2} Laws of Mississippi, 1866, p. 84.

^{page 49 note 3} Laws of Mississippi, 1865, p. 82.

^{page 49 note 4} Laws of Florida, 1865, p. 25; Laws of Mississippi, 1865, p. 165; Laws of South Carolina, 1865, p. 275.

^{page 50 note 1} Laws of Kentucky, 1865–66, p. 68.

^{page 50 note 2} Laws of Mississippi, 1865, p. 165.

^{page 50 note 3} Laws of South Carolina, 1865, p. 275.

^{page 50 note 4} Laws of Alabama, 1865, p. 55.

^{page 50 note 5} Laws of Arkansas, 1866–67, p. 99; Laws of Mississippi, 1866–67, p. 233; Laws of Tennessee, 1865–66, p. 24; Laws of Texas, 1866, p. 131.

^{page 50 note 6} Laws of Alabama, 1865–66, p. 98; Laws of Kentucky, 1865–66, p. 389; Laws of Mississippi, 1865, p. 83; Laws of Texas, 1866, p. 59; Laws of Virginia, 1865–66, pp. 89–90: Laws of South Carolina, 1865, p. 299.

^{page 50 note 7} Laws of South Carolina, 1865, pp. 278–291.

^{page 51 note 1} Laws of South Carolina, 1865, pp. 271, et seq.

^{page 51 note 2} Laws of Kentucky, 1863, p. 366.

^{page 51 note 3} Laws of South Carolina, 1865, p. 276.

^{page 52 note 1} Art. IV, sec. 1.

^{page 52 note 2} Art. XI, sec. 14.

^{page 52 note 3} Art. XIV, sec. 24.

^{page 52 note 4} Art. XIV, sec. 263.

^{page 52 note 5} Laws of Florida, 1865, p. 30; 1881, p. 86; 1903, p. 76.

^{page 52 note 6} Laws of Mississippi, 1865, p. 82.

^{page 52 note 7} Laws of North Carolina, 1871–72, p. 328.

^{page 53 note 1} Laws of Tennessee, 1869–70, pp. 67–70.

^{page 53 note 2} Laws of Arkansas, 1866–67, p. 99.

^{page 53 note 3} Laws of Kentucky, 1865–66, p. 37.

^{page 53 note 4} Laws of Louisiana, 1894, p. 63.

^{page 53 note 5} Laws of South Carolina, 1865, p. 291, and 1879, p. 3.

^{page 53 note 6} Laws of Virginia, 1877–78, pp. 302–303.

^{page 53 note 7} Laws of South Carolina, 1879, p. 3.

^{page 53 note 8} Laws of Mississippi, 1865, p. 82.

^{page 53 note 9} Laws of North Carolina, 1887, p. 494.

^{page 53 note 10} Title VII, Art. 135.

^{page 53 note 11} Art. IX, sec. 10.

^{page 53 note 12} Art. XII, sec. 1, and Art. XIV, sec. 256.

^{page 53 note 13} Art. XII. sec. 12.

^{page 54 note 1} Sec. 187.

^{page 54 note 2} Art. 248.

^{page 54 note 3} Art. VIII, sec. 207.

^{page 54 note 4} Art. IX, sec. 3, and Art. XI, sec. 3.

^{page 54 note 5} Art. IX, sec. 2.

^{page 54 note 6} Art. XI, sec. 7.

^{page 54 note 7} Art. XI, sec. 12.

^{page 54 note 8} Art. VII, sec. 7.

^{page 54 note 9} Art. IX, sec. 140.

^{page 54 note 10} Laws of Alabama, 1884–85, p. 349; Laws of Arkansas, 1886–87, p. 100; 1873, p. 423; Laws of Florida, 1895, pp. 96–97; Laws of Louisiana, 1880, pp. 110–111; Laws of Mississippi, 1878, p. 103; Laws of Missouri, 1864, p. 126 and 1889, p. 226; Laws of Tennessee, 1865–66, p. 65, 1873, p. 46, and 1901, p. 9; Laws of Texas, 1876, p. 201 and 1884, p. 40.

^{page 54 note 11} Laws of Louisiana, 1875, pp. 50–52.

^{page 54 note 12} Laws of Louisiana, 1880, p. 110.

^{page 55 note 1} Laws of Florida, 1895, pp. 96–97.

^{page 55 note 2} Laws of Tennessee, 1901, p. 9.

^{page 55 note 3} Laws of Kentucky, 1904, pp. 181–182.

^{page 55 note 4} Art. X, sec. 10.

^{page 55 note 5} Laws of Kentucky, 1865–66, p. 51.

^{page 55 note 6} Laws of Kentucky, 1873, pp. 509, 238, 193–194, 554–555.

^{page 55 note 7} Laws of Kentucky, 1873–74, pp. 63–66.

^{page 55 note 8} Laws of Kentucky, 1879–80, I, pp. 257–258; 1885–86, pp. 877–891; 1887–88, I, pp 192 and 203, II, p. 474.

^{page 55 note 9} Laws of Kentucky, 1904, pp. 129–131.

^{page 56 note 1} Laws of Florida, 1865, p. 25.

^{page 56 note 2} Laws of Mississippi, 1865, pp. 231–232.

^{page 56 note 3} Laws of Texas, 1866, p. 97.

^{page 56 note 4} Laws of Texas, 1871, 2d sess., p. 16.

^{page 56 note 5} Laws of Louisiana, 1873, pp. 756–757.

^{page 56 note 6} Laws of Tennessee, 1881, pp. 211–212 and 1885, pp. 124–125.

^{page 56 note 7} Laws of Florida, 1887, p. 116.

^{page 56 note 8} Laws of Mississippi, 1888, p. 48.

^{page 56 note 9} Laws of Texas, 1889, pp. 132–133 and 1891, p. 220.

^{page 56 note 10} Laws of Alabama, 1891, p. 412.

^{page 56 note 11} Laws of Kentucky, 1891, pp. 63–64.

^{page 56 note 12} Laws of Arkansas, 1891, pp. 15–17 and 1893, pp. 200–201.

^{page 57 note 1} Laws of South Carolina, 1898, pp. 777–778 and 1903, p. 84 and 1904, pp. 438–439.

^{page 57 note 2} Laws of North Carolina, 1899, pp. 539–540.

^{page 57 note 3} Laws of Virginia, 1899–1900, pp. 236–237 and 1901, pp. 183–184.

^{page 57 note 4} Laws of Maryland, 1904, pp. 187–188.

^{page 57 note 5} Laws of Georgia, 1899, pp. 66–67.

^{page 57 note 6} Laws of North Carolina, 1899, pp. 539–540.

^{page 57 note 7} Laws of South Carolina, 1904, pp. 438–439.

^{page 57 note 8} Laws of Virginia, 1889–1900, pp. 340–341 and 1901, pp. 329–330.

^{page 58 note 1} Laws of Arkansas, 1893, p. 200.

^{page 58 note 2} Laws of Mississippi, 1888, p. 45.

^{page 58 note 3} Laws of Louisiana, 1894, pp. 133–134.

^{page 58 note 4} Laws of Louisiana, 1902, p. 89.

^{page 58 note 5} Laws of Tennessee, 1903, p. 75 and 1905, pp. 321–322.

^{page 58 note 6} Laws of South Carolina, 1905, p. 954.

^{page 58 note 7} Laws of Virginia, 1901, pp. 212–213 and 639–640.

^{page 59 note 1} Laws of Alabama, 1875, p. 285 and 1884–85, p. 192; Laws of Arkansas, 1903, p. 161; Laws of Georgia, 1890–91, p. 213.

^{page 60 note 3} Laws of Georgia, 1905, p. 166.

^{page 60 note 2} Laws of Kentucky, 1904, p. 83.

^{page 60 note 3} 1868, Art. I, sec. 11; 1877, Art. II, sec. 1.

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