Monday, June 4, 2007
Constitution -- Question 7
Answer if you last name starts with the letters M-S. What forces led to the writing of the 1895 Constitution and how did that constitution attempt to resolve the dilemma it faced? Were there any positive aspects to that constutution? Finally, where was most power placed by that constitution?
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3 comments:
Ben Tillman was the reason behind the state calling for a new Constitution. He was a wealthy farmer who produced lots of cotton that turned politician. He disliked any of the gentry that was already in place and did not like the fact that blacks had majority of the vote in SC. He called for a new constitution to be written in SC. The dilemma this constitution wished to resolve was how to eliminate the black vote, but at the same time not hurt the white vote. This constitution made it so that all these guidelines would have to be followed in order for blacks to vote. They would have to know the constitution inside and out in order to vote. They had to pay a poll tax and have to have property over three hundred dollars. There were also a list of requirements for the length of time you had been in the state and so on. Majority of the power was still placed in the legislature. Many people feared a powerful governor, so they decided to remain most of the power in the legislature. There were some positive parts to the Constitution; it allowed for a public school system and equal taxation and fair taxation. It also had a Bill of Rights and kept people for going to jail just because they were in debt. Otherwise there would have been many folk going to jail for not paying up. This constitution also kept in place the direct election of officials which is good, but not positive when you think about the treatment of blacks.
Matt Spivey
Matt gives an excellent answer. I would only add a couple of clarifying points. Tillman represented wealth in the upcountry, so he wanted to take power from the lowcountry but not from the wealthy. He had a lot of poor whites who supported him in the upcountry, and they greatly feared that taking voting power from blacks would also take voting power away from them. So Matt has that part of the dilemma correct. But the other part was to take away black voting power without violating the U.S. Constitution. By placing a number of requirements that Matt mentioned, especially allowing local voting registrars decide who demonstrated an understanding of the constitution, whites might pass this subjective test while few if any blacks would ever pass. Many of the positive things in the 1868 constitution were retained, like a public school system (but of course now that would be a dual system with very unequal schools for blacks).
A distressed economy in South Carolina affected almost every one and led to the writing of the 1895 Constitution. Also, a farmer turned politician, Ben Tillman, wanted to rid the state government of black participation. The 1895 Constitution and its new requirements disenfranchised blacks and poor whites. Tillman’s agenda was fueled by a belief that the new Constitution would eliminate fraud and corruption from government.
This constitution imposed new state, county and precinct dwelling limitations and required a poll tax to be paid in advance. I don’t believe there are any significant positive aspects of the constitution besides the fact maintaining of a public school system. The majority of power remained in the legislative. The state was still in fear of giving the governor too much power.
DeQuawn Smith
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