It was only after adoption of the 13th. 14th. and 15th amendments that certain States adopted the poll tax as a precondition for voting. We have only to look at the speeches at the conventions that were held. which played a fundamental part in the enactment of such legislation. to see that their purpose was to disfranchise an important part of our society. We feel that Congress should speak out on this question so we will be assured that the poll tax will not serve as a barrier to voting after we do the job that has been outlined in section 4 of the voting rights bill with regard to the literacy test. If we do not do the full job now. the issue will come back to this body and we shall be called upon to do something to eliminate this additional barrier to voting at a later date.
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literacy test