Thomas Mundy Peterson (October 6, 1824 – February 4, 1904) of Perth Amboy, New Jersey has been claimed to be the first African-American to vote in an election under the just-enacted provisions of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution. His vote was cast on March 31, 1870; the Amendment had been ratified almost two months earlier, on February 3, but was only officially certified by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish on March 30th.
Peterson is most notably remembered for voting in the local election held at Perth Amboy City Hall over the town's charter. Some citizens wanted to revise the existing charter while others wished to abandon the charter altogether in favor of a township form of government. Peterson cast his ballot in favor of revising the existing charter. This side won 230 to 63. Peterson was afterward appointed to be a member of the committee of seven that made subsequent amendments leading to the final version that was approved by the State Legislature on April 5, 1871.
To honor Thomas Mundy Peterson as the first African-American voter after the passage of the 15th Amendment, the citizens of Perth Amboy raised $70 ($2100 in 2021 dollars) to award him with a gold medal. The full medal consists of a gold bar from which a two-inch diameter medallion was hung. The hanging medal featured a profile bust of a clean-shaven Abraham Lincoln. It was presented to Thomas Mundy Peterson on Memorial Day, which was then called Decoration Day, May 30, 1884. James Kearny, on behalf of the people of Perth Amboy, presented Mr. Peterson with his medal, which he is said to have loved and never considered himself properly dressed without it affixed to his left breast.
Beginning in 1877 in Louisiana the payment of a poll tax became a pre-requisite for voter registration. This tax emerged in the late nineteenth century as part of the Jim Crow era laws which enforced racial segregation all around the Southern United States. After the right to vote was extended to all races by the enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1870, a number of states enacted poll tax laws as a device for restricting voting rights. After payment of this poll tax was made a pre-requisite to voting, very few African-Americans, Native Americans, and impoverished white citizens had enough money to afford it, thus eliminating their ability to register to vote. This poll tax survived for several decades until the addition of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. With the passing of this amendment in 1964 poll taxes were declared unconstitutional in all states. Even when this poll tax was a requirement, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament made a point to vote for the good of our minority serving University and it's students. The poll tax receipts and voter registration cards seen here serve as a historic reminder of how the United States government disenfranchised African-American, Native American, women, and poor white voters in America.