ALL meanings of grandfather clause
grand·fa·ther clause
G g - noun grandfather clause U.S. History. a clause in the constitutions of some Southern states after 1890 intended to permit whites to vote while disfranchising blacks: it exempted from new literacy and property qualifications for voting those men entitled to vote before 1867 and their lineal descendants. 1
- noun grandfather clause any legal provision that exempts a business, class of persons, etc., from a new government regulation that would affect prior rights and privileges. 1
- noun grandfather clause a clause in the constitutions of several Southern states that waived electoral literacy requirements for lineal descendants of people voting before 1867, thus ensuring the franchise for illiterate White people: declared unconstitutional in 1915 0
- noun grandfather clause a clause in legislation that forbids or regulates an activity so that those engaged in it are exempted from the ban 0
- noun grandfather clause a former law in some Southern states waiving electoral literacy requirements for those whose forebears voted before the Civil War, thus keeping the franchise for illiterate whites 0
- noun grandfather clause a clause in some legislation forbidding or regulating a certain activity, which exempts those already engaged in it before the legislation was passed 0
- noun grandfather clause A clause or section, especially in a law, granting exceptions for people or organisations who were affected by previous conditions. 0