Grandfather Law
On February 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States extended voting rights upon ‘every male citizen’ at the end of the Civil War. This modified the Constitution of Maryland of 1867 which granted voting rights only to ‘every white male citizen.’
In 1908 the Maryland State Legislature passed a law 'to fix the qualifications of voters at municipal elections in the city of Annapolis and to provide for the registration of said voters.’ Among routine issues related to voting procedures was an odious clause:
“All citizens who prior to January 1, 1868, were entitled to vote in the state of Maryland or any other state of the United States at a state election, and the lawful male descendants of any person who prior to January 1, 1868, was entitled to vote in this state or in any other state of the United States at a state election, and no person not coming within one of the [this category] shall be registered as a legal voter of the city of Annapolis or qualified to vote at the municipal elections held therein, and any person so duly registered shall, while so registered, be qualified to vote at any municipal election held in said city; said registration shall in all other respects conform to the laws of the state of Maryland relating to and providing for registration in the state of Maryland.”
This is the so-called “Grandfather Law” which conferred voting rights only upon those whose grandfathers could vote – effectively disenfranchising all people of color in Annapolis. Men who had voted in every election since 1870 were suddenly told ‘you cannot vote.’
A furor erupted. African Americans organized, with community leaders raising money to fight this act. Elections officials were sued and the case worked it way through the court system.
It was not until 1915 that the Supreme Court of the United States overturned this dangerous precedent and African American males were once again enfranchised to take their rightful place in our municipal government.
The ‘Grandfather Law,’ although a serious threat to our municipal democracy, did set the stage for the civil rights struggles in Annapolis and beyond during the 20th century. It empowered us to fight for what is right, no matter the cost.
In 2008, Annapolis will recognize the 100th anniversary of this critical event in the United States and the early Civil Rights movement.
