24th Amendment

U.S. Constitution of 1787

24th Amendment

#	US Constitution Amendment	Proposal Date	Enacted Date
24th	Prohibits voting rights revocation due to the non-payment of poll taxes - Signers: Speaker of the House John William McCormack (MA-D)& US Senator Carl Trumbull Hayden (D-AZ)	September  14, 1962	January 23,1964

The Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibits both the United States Congress and the fifty states from making the right to vote in federal elections conditional on payment of a poll or other type of tax. The amendment was proposed by Congress to the states on August 27, 1962, and was approved by the states on January 23, 1964.

Poll taxes appeared in southern states after Reconstruction as a measure to prevent African Americans from voting, and were held to be constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 1937 decision Breedlove v. Suttles. In 1964, the year of this amendment's passage, five states still retained a poll tax: Virginia, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The amendment made the poll tax unconstitutional in regards to federal elections. However, it was not until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) that poll taxes for state elections were unconstitutional because they violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth 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 Twenty-fourth Amendment was finally sent to the states for ratification at the behest of President John F. Kennedy, who brought the issue back into public consciousness in 1962. Kennedy considered the constitutional amendment the best way to avoid a filibuster, as the claim that federal abolition of the poll tax was unconstitutional would be moot. Ratification of the amendment took only slightly more than a year, however, as it was rapidly ratified by state legislatures across the country from August 1962 to January 1964. President Johnson called the amendment a "triumph of liberty over restriction" and "a verification of people's rights."   Only one state, Mississippi, rejected the amendment outright on December 20, 1962. 

Exhibited is The Detroit Free Press, January 24, 1964 Two line, two column head: "Poll Tax Outlawed For U.S. Elections"

Constitution of 1787 Exhibit	Bill of Rights Exhibit
11th Amendment Exhibit	12th Amendment Exhibit
13th Amendment Exhibit	14th Amendment Exhibit
15th Amendment Exhibit	16th Amendment Exhibit
17th Amendment Exhibit	18th and 21st Amendments Exhibit
19th Amendment Exhibit	20th Amendment Exhibit
22nd Amendment Exhibit	23rd Amendment Exhibit
24th Amendment Exhibit	25th Amendment Exhibit
26th Amendment Exhibit	27th Amendment Exhibit

Open 2013 Constitution Day Exhibit Brochure 

Historic.us Exhibits

Stan Klos lecturing at the Republican National Convention's PoliticalFest 2000 Rebels With A Vision Exhibit  in Philadelphia's Convention Hall 

Primary Source exhibits are available for display in your community. The costs range from $1,000 to $25,000 depending on length of time on loan and the rarity of artifacts chosen. 

Historic.us

Dr. Naomi Yavneh Klos hosting the Louisiana Primary Source Exhibit at the State Capitol Building for the 2012 Bicentennial Celebration.

Book a primary source exhibit and a professional speaker for your next event by contacting Historic.us today. Our Clients include many Fortune 500 companies, associations, non-profits, colleges, universities, national conventions, pr and advertising agencies. As the leading exhibitor of primary sources, many of our clients have benefited from our historic displays that are designed to entertain and educate your target audience. Contact us to learn how you can join our "roster" of satisfied clientele today!

Historic.us

 A Non-profit Corporation

Primary Source Exhibits

2000 Louisiana Avenue | Venue 15696

New Orleans, Louisiana, 70115

727-771-1776 | Exhibit Inquiries

202-239-1774 | Office

Dr. Naomi and Stanley Yavneh Klos, Principals

Naomi@Historic.us

Stan@Historic.us

Primary Source exhibits are available for display in your community. The costs range from $1,000 to $35,000 depending on length of time on loan and the rarity of artifacts chosen. 

Website: www.Historic.us

Historic Pillars of the Republican Party - GOP Foundational Legislation that Encourages & Safeguards U.S. Public Education, Social Justice, Conservation and Fiscal Responsibility. "Imitation is the sincerest form of change and it reaches its political pinnacle when others, especially the opposition, assert your ideas and laws as their own." - Stan Klos - Please Visit Republicanism.us