USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Louisiana Literacy Test was designed so that the test-takers would pass or fail simply at the discretion of the registrar who administered the test. The questions were so imprecisely written that the examiner could decree almost any answer correct or incorrect, at his whim.

Detailed explanation-2: -Louisiana Voter Application and Literacy Tests (c. 1963) This Louisiana literacy test, circa 1963, is typical of the tests used by various Louisiana parishes before passage of the Voting Rights Act. It was used to deny Blacks-and other non-whites-the right to vote.

Detailed explanation-3: -The purpose was to exclude persons with minimal literacy, in particular, poor African Americans in the South, from voting. This was achieved by asking these prospective voters to interpret abstract provisions of the U.S. Constitution or rejecting their applications for errors.

Detailed explanation-4: -Prior to passage of the federal Voting Rights Act in 1965, Southern states maintained elaborate voter registration procedures deliberately designed to deny the vote to nonwhites. This process was often referred to as a “literacy test, ” a term that had two different meanings-one specific and one general.