
What is a grandfather clause and what was its purpose with respect to literacy tests? This allowed illiterate white males to vote because they didn’t have to pass the literacy test. What were the Grandfather Clauses? … The Grandfather Clause was a provision that allowed a voter to avoid a literacy test if his father or grandfather had been eligible to vote on January 1st, 1867. What was the grandfather clause of 1867? A half-dozen states passed laws that made men eligible to vote if they had been able to vote before African-Americans were given the franchise (generally, 1867), or if they were the lineal descendants of voters back then. What are examples of grandfather clause?įor example, when Washington, DC, raised its drinking age from 18 to 21, people between those ages, who could drink under the old law, were allowed to retain the right to legally consume alcohol under a grandfather clause. Such allowances can be permanent, temporary, or instituted with limits. What was the grandfather clause in simple terms?Ī grandfather clause, or legacy clause, is an exemption that allows persons or entities to continue with activities or operations that were approved before the implementation of new rules, regulations, or laws. It provided that those who had enjoyed the right to vote prior to 1866 or 1867, and their lineal descendants, would be exempt from recently enacted educational, property, or tax requirements for voting. What was the grandfather clause and what was its purpose?

