Claim: The Jim Crow laws were in effect in America.

Florida 's Constitution of 1885 , its fifth , was drawn up by the Constitutional Convention of 1885 . It established a fifth constitution for the U.S. state of Florida . The convention was held from June 9 , 1885 until August 3 , 1885  in Tallahassee , Florida `` for the purpose of reforming the `` Carpetbag '' Constitution of 1868 '' , according to course literature from the University of Virginia . It was Florida 's fifth constitutional convention and restored the election of many public officials , reduced the salaries of the governor and other state officers , made the governor ineligible for reelection , abolished the office of lieutenant governor , and provided for a legislature of fixed numbers .   The agreed-upon constitution added a residency requirement , forbade a second consecutive term for the office of governor , made the cabinet elected instead of appointed , and made many state and local offices elective . It also mandated a poll tax as a requirement for voting -LRB- Article VI , Section 8 -RRB- . This was a compromise between smaller `` black belt '' counties who wanted more offices elected and those from larger and more prosperous counties . The poll tax disenfranchised African-Americans , and anyone else too poor to pay the tax . Racial segregation in schools was mandatory -LRB- Article XII , Section 12 -RRB- . The constitution also prohibited marriage between `` a white person and a person of negro descent '' -LRB- Article XVI , Section 24 -RRB- .   The constitution ratified at the convention passed with a vote of 31,804 to 21,243 . It was `` the model '' of Florida 's government until 1968 and `` represented the regression to racial discrimination which was occurring throughout the South in the post-Reconstruction period . ''