The Twenty-Fourth Amendment: Ending Poll Taxes in Voting

The 24th Amendment, ratified on January 23, 1964, was crucial in the civil rights movement as it abolished poll taxes, which had been used to disenfranchise poor citizens, especially African Americans. Poll taxes, introduced post-Civil War, were a financial barrier to voting, circumventing the 15th Amendment that granted African American men voting rights. In 1962, the House approved an amendment to end this discrimination. Despite resistance from some states, the amendment was ratified in 1964, with South Dakota being the decisive 38th state. The video reviews these events and poses questions for further reflection.

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