grandfather clause

English - English

Definition of grandfather clause in English English dictionary: A clause or section, especially in a law, granting exceptions for people or organisations who were affected by previous conditions
Many building codes include a grandfather clause exempting older buildings until some amount of remodeling occurs.; A clause in the constitutions of several southern states before the year 1915, intended to disfranchise African Americans by exempting from stringent voting requirements all lineal descendants of persons who were registered voters before 1867; A provision in a statute that exempts those already involved in a regulated activity or business from the new regulations established by the statute; Constitutional provision enacted by seven Southern U.S. states (1895-1910) to deny suffrage to African American men. It exempted descendants of men who voted before 1867 from meeting new literacy and property requirements. Since African American men were not granted voting rights until passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870, this clause effectively prevented them, and many impoverished and illiterate whites, from voting. The U.S. Supreme Court declared such clauses unconstitutional in 1915; an exemption based on circumstances existing prior to the adoption of some policy; used to enfranchise illiterate whites in US south after the Civil War
grandfather clauses: plural form of grandfather clause