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Activity 1: Analyzing North Carolina's 1900 Voter Registration Laws

<em>Laws and Resolutions of the State of North Carolina General Assemble at its Adjourned Session 1900</em>, Raleigh, June 12, 1900

After reading through North Carolina's 1900 voter registration laws (go back to section 1 of the tutorial if you get stuck on any of the “terms of art”), answer as many of the following questions as you are comfortable doing.  No outside sources are necessary for you to complete this activity.  After completing the questionaires, note which questions you could not answer and which questions you would like to use more information to answer more fully. 

 

General Questions to Ask about Primary Sources

What type of document is it?

Why does the document exist? What motives prompted the author to write the material in this form?

Who wrote this document?

Who or what is left out of the document--women, children, other minorities, members of the majority?

How do the subjects of the document relate to what we know about broader society?

What was the meaning of the document in its own time? What is its meaning for the reader today?

What does the document tell us about change in society?

 

Specific Questions to Ask about Legal Documents:

What type of legal document is it? Is it a statute, a judicial opinion, an executive order, a contract or legal transaction?

If a legal contract or transaction, what laws allow for its existence?  

Who wrote the law in question and why?

What does the law address?

Does it amend a past law?

Who is controlling its interpretation and execution?  

Are there precedents which affirm the law's existence?

Is the law constitutional?  Can a case be made for or against its constitutionality?

What is the jurisdiction of the law in question?

What cultural factors may have contributed to the laws existence?

Is the law still in existence today?  Are their similar laws in existence today?  Why not?



Activity 1: Analyzing North Carolina's 1900 Voter Registration Laws