 It was clear to blacks that, without the franchise, they had no prospect of securely enjoying their legal rights to property, contract, due process and the other claims that had been traditionally regarded as the fundamental rights of free and equal citizens. With no political power, Southern blacks were exposed to ruthless exploitation and oppression at the hands of whites, which was the reason why whites undertook their disenfranchisement schemes in the first place. The experience of Reconstruction had taught whites that the vote was a power that blacks would use to secure their other legal rights. It was no accident that one of the principal aims of the Civil Rights Movement would be the enactment of effective federal legislation to protect voting rights. 