In this paper the author presents a straightforward statement of facts
concerning the disfranchisement of the Negro in the Southern States. Mr.
Chesnutt, who is too well known as a writer to need any introduction to
an American audience, puts the case for the Negro to the American people
very plainly, and spares neither the North nor the South.
The right of American citizens of African descent, commonly called Negroes, to vote upon the same terms as other citizens of the United States, is plainly declared and firmly fixed by the Constitution. No such person is called upon to present reasons why he should possess this right: that question is foreclosed by the Constitution.
