Court Case
Williams v. Mississippi
The Supreme Court upheld Mississippi's poll tax, literacy test, and related voter qualification scheme because the law did not explicitly name race on its face, even though it was designed and administered to disfranchise Black voters.
Year
1898
Impact
Negative
Status
Active
Party
Unknown
Era
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement
Impact Context
The ruling legitimized facially race-neutral voter suppression tools that were central to Jim Crow disfranchisement across the South.
What This Policy Did
The ruling legitimized facially race-neutral voter suppression tools that were central to Jim Crow disfranchisement across the South.
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Sources
Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center • Archive • Apr 25, 1898
Decision text describing the Court's approval of Mississippi's voting qualification regime.
Library of Congress • Government • Apr 25, 1898
Official U.S. Reports record for the Williams decision.
Mississippi Encyclopedia / Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi • Academic
Institutional historical overview of the Williams decision and its role in disfranchisement.