I'm from Alabama. I remember my mother, as a widow, paying the poll tax in the early - mid sixties. C. Horton ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, November 01, 2004 7:23 AM Subject: Poll Tax >A "poll tax" is just what it says, a tax on the poll. > Poll has several meanings in my Merriam-Webster > but the NUMBER ONE definition is "HEAD." In fact, > when I was a youngster I often heard this tax referred > to as a "head tax." This refers to the "head" which > sits atop your neck and shoulders. It was a tax paid > by each male in thecommunity to cover basic > operating costs for the government. A male had to pay > it for the privilege of voting (females didn't vote). > Bob COOK > > ______________________________