Massachusetts • 1850s

Timothy Duffy

Immigration & literacy tests

Role-play summaryI fled the Great Famine in Ireland and built a life in Massachusetts. I would argue that immigrants who live, work, and contribute to their communities deserve a say in public decisions.

What forces are at play?

This role represents the anti-immigrant politics that surrounded Irish immigration in the mid-1800s. Massachusetts adopted a literacy requirement for voting in the 1850s, at a moment when nativist movements portrayed newer immigrants as unfit for political power. A rule framed as a test of competence could therefore carry a strong political and ethnic target.

How can this shape elections?

Literacy tests later became a familiar tool of voter suppression because officials could control how they were administered. The broader issue is whether a qualification measures something genuinely necessary for voting or serves as a gatekeeping device. When the electorate changes through immigration, those already in power may have incentives to design rules that slow that political change.

Carry these questions into the activity

What rule, barrier, or source of power matters most from this person’s point of view?
Who gains political voice — and who loses it — because of the way the election system works here?