A provision exempting certain individuals or entities from the requirements of a new rule or regulation if they were already doing something before the rule came into effect. In the context of American government, particularly relevant to Advanced Placement (AP) United States Government and Politics, such clauses were infamously used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Southern states. These clauses stipulated that individuals who, or whose ancestors, had the right to vote before the Civil War (or a specific date prior to Black suffrage) were exempt from certain voting requirements, such as literacy tests or poll taxes. This effectively disenfranchised African Americans while enfranchising many poor and illiterate white voters.
Understanding the historical context is crucial. These clauses were a direct response to the 15th Amendment, which granted African American men the right to vote. Southern states, seeking to circumvent this amendment, employed various tactics to restrict Black suffrage. The practical effect was the systematic denial of voting rights based on race, undermining the principles of equal protection under the law. The Supreme Court eventually declared these clauses unconstitutional, recognizing them as discriminatory violations of the 15th Amendment.
