Constitutions of the South by the partisan boards of registrars, the same
discrimination against negroes was practiced. Their methods are of more or
less interest. The plan was to exclude all negroes from the electorate
without excluding a single white man. Under the Alabama Constitution, a
soldier in the Civil War, either on the Federal or Confederate side, is
entitled to qualification. When a negro goes up to register as a soldier
he is asked for his discharge. When he presents it he is asked, "How do we
know that you are the man whose name is written in this discharge? Bring
us two white men whom we know and who will swear that you have not found
this paper, and that they know that you were a soldier in the company and
regiment in which you claim to have been." This, of course, could not be
done, and the ex-soldier who risked his life for the Union is denied the
right to vote.

The same Constitution provides that if not a soldier or the legal
descendant of one, an elector must be of good character and understand the
duties and obligations of citizenship under a Republican form of
government. When a negro claims qualifications under the good character
and understanding clauses he is put through an examination similar to the
following:

"What is a republican form of government?

"What is a limited monarchy?

"What islands did the United States come into possession of by the
Spanish-American War?

"What is the difference between Jeffersonian Democracy and Calhoun
principles, as compared to the Monroe Doctrine?