Historic Marker and Former Home of Andrew Jackson Montague
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This historical marker stands in front of the former home of Virginia politician Andrew Jackson Montague. Montague served as governor between 1902 and 1906. He was also the attorney general of Virginia between 1898 and his election as governor in 1902. His home was built in 1891, a period when Montague served as the attorney for the Richmond and Danville Railroad. It was during these years that Montague made connections and established himself as a leading citizen and capable attorney. It was this reputation, as well as the political connections he made in Richmond, that spurred his long career in state and national politics. Today, Montague is best known for his support of a campaign to purge African American voters from the polls. Although the 15th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed that the right to vote could not be restricted according to race or previous condition of servitude, Montague and other leading Virginia politicians rewrote the state constitution to include a provision that restricted suffrage through a literacy test that was often unevenly applied to African Americans.
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