Ch. 1.3. State Voting Qualifications, 1776-1855
| Keyssar, Table A.1. Suffrage Requirements, 1776-1790 | ||||||
| State | Year require-ment adopted (C = by const’n; S = by statute) | Property requirement | Taxpaying requirement | Residency require-ment | Gender | Race |
| Connecticut | 1715 (S) | Freehold of 40 shillings/yr or 40 pounds of personal estate | ||||
| Delaware | 1734 (S); 1776 (C) | Freehold of 50 acres land or 40 pounds clear estate | 2 years in state | |||
| Georgia | 1777 (C) | 10 pounds estate or of any mechanic trade | Liable to pay tax in this state | 6 months in state | Male | White |
| 1789 (C) | Paid all taxes of previous year | 6 months in county | ||||
| Maryland | 1776 (C) | Freehold of 50 acres or property worth 30 pounds | 1 year in county for those without 50 acre freehold | Free-men | ||
| Massachusetts | 1780 (C) | Freehold worth 3 pounds/yr, or any estate worth 60 pounds | 1 year in town | Male | ||
| New Hampshire | 1784 (C) | Payment of poll tax | Male | |||
| New Jersey | 1776 (C) | 50 pounds of clear estate | 1 year in county | |||
| New York | 1777 (C) | For assembly: freehold of 20 pounds/yr or rental tenement of 40 shillings/yr; for Senate: freehold of 100 pounds/yr clear of debt | Paid taxes to the state (exceptions for those who were freemen of Albany & NYC by 1775) | 6 months in county | Male | |
| North Carolina | 1776 (C) | Freehold of 50 acres (for Senate) | Paid public taxes (for House) | 1 year in county | Free-men | |
| Pennsylvania | 1776 (C) | Paid public taxes (or sons of freeholders) | 1 year in state | Free-men | ||
| 1790 (C) | Paid state or county taxes | 2 years in state | Free-men | |||
| Rhode Island | 1762 (S) | Freehold worth 40 pounds or 40 shillings/yr (or eldest son of freeholder) | ||||
| South Carolina | 1778 (C) | Freehold of 50 acres or town lot | Or paid taxes of 3 shillings | 2 years in state | Male | White |
| Vermont | 1786 (C), in effect with statehoodin 1791 | None | 1 year in state | Free-men | ||
| Virginia | 1776 (C) | Freehold of 50 acres or town lot with house | Male | White | ||
| Keyssar, Table A.3. Chronology of Property Requirements for Suffrage, 1790-1855 | ||||||
| Year | Number of States in Union | Number of States with Property Qualifications | States with Property Qualifications | Year this Requirement Adopted | Year requirement modified | Year all property requirements terminated |
| 1790 | 13 | 10 | Connecticut | 1715 | 1818: taxpaying and militia service alternatives added | 1845 |
| Delaware | 1734 | 1792 | ||||
| Rhode Island | 1762 | 1842: native-born citizens exempted | ||||
| Virginia | 1762 | 1850 | ||||
| Maryland | 1776 | 1801: requirement dropped for state elections | 1810 | |||
| New Jersey | 1776 | 1807: taxpaying alternative added | 1844 | |||
| North Carolina | 1776 | 1854 | ||||
| New York | 1777 | 1821 (for whites only) | ||||
| Massachusetts | 1780 | 1821 | ||||
| South Carolina | 1790 (with taxpaying alternative) | 1810: taxpaying and residency alternatives | ||||
| 1800 | 16 | 10 | Tennessee | 1796 (with residency alternative) | 1834 | |
| 1810 | 17 | 9 | ||||
| 1820 | 23 | 9 | ||||
| 1830 | 24 | 8 | ||||
| 1840 | 26 | 7 | ||||
| 1850 | 31 | 4 | ||||
| 1855 | 31 | 3* |
*In 1855 the three states with property qualifications were Rhode Island, New York, and South Carolina. However, Rhode Island exempted native-born citizens; New York’s requirement applied only to African-Americans; and South Carolina had a residency alternative to its property qualification.
| Keyssar, Table A.5. Chronology of Race Exclusions in Voting Rights, 1790-1855 | |||||
| Year | Number of States in Union | Number of States with Racial Exclusions | States with Racial Exclusions | Year Requirement Adopted | Notes |
| 1790 | 13 | 3 | Virginia | 1762 | |
| Georgia | 1777 | ||||
| South Carolina | 1790 | ||||
| 1800 | 16 | 5 | Delaware | 1792 | |
| Kentucky | 1799 | ||||
| 1810 | 17 | 8 | Maryland | 1801 | 1801 by statute; 1810 by const’l amend’t |
| Ohio | 1803 | ||||
| New Jersey | 1807 | 1807 by statute; 1844 by constit’n | |||
| 1820 | 23 | 14 | Louisiana | 1812 | |
| Indiana | 1816 | ||||
| Mississippi | 1817 | ||||
| Connecticut | 1818 | ||||
| Illinois | 1818 | ||||
| Alabama | 1819 | ||||
| 1830 | 24 | 15 (+ *1) | Missouri | 1821 | |
| *New York | 1821 | Men of color had a higher property qualification | |||
| 1840 | 26 | 20 (+ 1) | Tennessee | 1834 | |
| North Carolina | 1835 | ||||
| Arkansas | 1836 | ||||
| Michigan | 1837 | ||||
| Pennsylvania | 1838 | ||||
| 1850 | 31 | 25 (+ 1) | Florida | 1845 | |
| Texas | 1845 | ||||
| Iowa | 1846 | ||||
| Wisconsin | 1848 | ||||
| California | 1850 | ||||
| 1855 | 31 | 25 (+ 1) |
*Although technically not a racial exclusion, New York’s higher property qualification for men of color was clearly discriminatory.