Final answer:
The 1890 Mississippi state constitution severely limited African American voting rights through measures like poll taxes and literacy tests, effectively implementing systemic disenfranchisement. This set a precedent, influencing other Southern states to adopt similar discriminatory practices, resulting in a significant drop in black eligible voters. The judiciary upheld these practices, highlighting their powerful role in interpreting and applying the constitution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 1890 state constitution in Mississippi had a profound impact on the African American population and their ability to participate in the electoral process. By introducing measures such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and lengthy residence requirements, black voters were systematically disenfranchised. This new wave of legislation not only reduced the political power of African Americans in Mississippi, but it also set a precedent for other Southern states to follow.
Under the Mississippi Plan, the number of African Americans eligible to vote dropped dramatically. In 1890, only 9,000 of the 147,000 African Americans of voting age in Mississippi were qualified to vote, signaling a drastic undercut of their constitutional rights. These practices went uncontested as the judges and courts at the time often sided with the discriminatory laws and upheld such restrictions.
The subjective nature of the literacy tests meant that white registrars had the authority to determine whether potential voters were literate enough to vote, which in practice led to arbitrary and racially biased determinations. This discriminatory practice was bolstered by the fact that judges and courts were interpreters of the constitution and had the power to decide on its evolution, as noted by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes in the 1930s.