State voting restrictions based on race or color:
1787: U.S. Constitution proposed, contained no mention of voting
qualifications; only two states—Virginia and Georgia—prohibited free black
voters
1788: U.S. Constitution ratified; first federal elections held
1789: First Congress and first presidential administration (George
Washington) began
1790: South Carolina restricted suffrage to whites
1792: Delaware restricted suffrage to whites
1799: Kentucky restricted suffrage to whites
1801: Maryland restricted suffrage to whites
1803: Ohio at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1807: New Jersey restricted suffrage to whites
1812: Louisiana at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1816: Indiana at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1817: Mississippi at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1818: Illinois at statehood and Connecticut restricted suffrage to whites
1819: Alabama at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1821: Missouri at statehood restricted suffrage to whites and New York added
a property requirement for “men of color”
1834: Tennessee restricted suffrage to whites (with the exception of those
qualified to testify in court against whites)
1835: North Carolina restricted suffrage to whites
1836: Arkansas at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1837: Michigan at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1838: Pennsylvania restricted suffrage to whites
1845: Florida at statehood and Texas at statehood restricted suffrage to
whites
1846: Iowa at statehood restricted suffrage to whites and New York added a
3-year residency requirement for “men of color”
1848: Wisconsin at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1850: California at statehood restricted suffrage to whites and to Mexicans
made American citizens by 1848 treaty
1858: Minnesota at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1859: Oregon at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1861: Kansas at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
1863: West Virginia at statehood restricted suffrage to whites
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