The Twenty-Fourth Amendment

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Section 1.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The poll tax kept many people, particularily African American's from voting.  Though everyone had the right to vote, political power was minimized by the poll tax because people could not afford to vote. The 24th amendment recognized that poll taxes were a barrier to voting and repealed it allowing people to vote without paying a prerequisite fee.  

This cartoon, displays how many people were affected by the poll tax and also shows how limited the people were.  The poll tax only allowed for a portion of citizens to have a political voice, therefore the voice of the nation was impaired and biased. 

This epic video summarizes the frustration of having financial struggles get in the way of voting.  At the time, African American's had a smaller income than most whites, making it difficult for them to participate in voting.  It shows that this amendment was a big step toward equal rights.