After the passage of the Voting Rights Act, state and local enforcement of the law was weak and it often was ignored outright, mainly in the South and in areas where the proportion of blacks in the population was high and their vote threatened the political status quo. Passed by Congress on July 6, 1965, the 25th Amendment was ratified by the states ...read more, Black codes were restrictive laws designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure their availability as a cheap labor force after slavery was abolished during the Civil War. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The long debate over lowering the voting age began during World War II and intensified during the Vietnam War, when young men denied the right to vote were being conscripted to fight for their ...read more. The 15th Amendment granting African-American men the right to vote was adopted into the U.S. Constitution in 1870. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a ...read more, The 26 Amendment lowered the legal voting age in the United States from 21 to 18. By the beginning of the 20th century, nearly all African Americans in the states of the former Confederacy were again disenfranchised. It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that legal barriers were outlawed at the state and local levels if they denied African-Americans their right to vote under the 15th Amendment.". The amendment was adopted in 1791 along with nine other amendments that make up the Bill of Rights ...read more, The Second Amendment, often referred to as the right to bear arms, is one of 10 amendments that form the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791 by the U.S. Congress. In the late 1870s, the Southern Republican Party vanished with the end of Reconstruction, and Southern state governments effectively nullified both the 14th Amendment (passed in 1868, it guaranteed citizenship and all its privileges to African Americans) and the 15th amendment, stripping blacks in the South of the right to vote. By the 1890s, however, efforts by several states to enact such measures as poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses—in addition to widespread threats and violence—had completely reversed those trends. Updates? Fifteenth Amendment, amendment (1870) to the Constitution of the United States that guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The amendment complemented and followed in the wake of the passage of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments, which abolished slavery and guaranteed citizenship, respectively, to African Americans. Despite the amendment, by the late 1870s discriminatory practices were used to prevent blacks from exercising their right to vote, especially in the South. The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. The 13th Amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly ...read more, The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted American women the right to vote, a right known as women’s suffrage, and was ratified on August 18, 1920, ending almost a century of protest. The amendment reads, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Voter suppression a symptom as US racial inequality lingers; Dr Cherrie Short takes a look at how voting is a basic right By late 1870, all the former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union, and most were controlled by the Republican Party thanks to the support of black voters. It also protects the right to peaceful protest and to petition the government. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/fifteenth-amendment. In 1964, the 24th Amendment made poll taxes illegal in federal elections; poll taxes in state elections were banned in 1966 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The full text of the Fifteenth Amendment is: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude—. The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1870. In the year of the 150th anniversary of the Fifteenth Amendment Columbia University history professor and historian Eric Foner said about the Fifteenth Amendment as well as its history during the Reconstruction era and Post-Reconstruction era: The act divided the South into five military districts and outlined how new governments based on universal manhood suffrage were to be established. In 1867, following the American Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, the Republican-dominated U.S. Congress passed the First Reconstruction Act over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. The act banned the use of literacy tests, provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less than 50 percent of the non-white population had not registered to vote and authorized the U.S. attorney general to investigate the use of poll taxes in state and local elections. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. In the ensuing decades, various discriminatory practices including poll taxes and literacy tests—along with Jim Crow laws, intimidation and outright violence—were used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote. The passage of the Fifteenth Amendment and its subsequent ratification (February 3, 1870) effectively enfranchised African American men while denying the right to vote to women of all colours. Still, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 gave African-American voters the legal means to challenge voting restrictions and vastly improved voter turnout. With the adoption of the 15th Amendment in 1870, a politically mobilized African-American community joined with white allies in the Southern states to elect the Republican Party to power, which brought about radical changes across the South. Premium Membership is now 50% off! Fifteenth Amendment. The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Did you know? Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Despite the amendment, by the late 1870s discriminatory practices were used to prevent blacks from exercising t… After the Civil War, during the period known as Reconstruction (1865–77), the amendment was successful in encouraging African Americans to vote. Section 2. One day after it was ratified, Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, became the first black person to vote under the authority of the 15th Amendment. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: Section 1. In the same year, Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, became the first African-American to sit in the U.S. Congress, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Although black Republicans never obtained political office in proportion to their overwhelming electoral majority, Revels and a dozen other black men served in Congress during Reconstruction, more than 600 served in state legislatures and many more held local offices. Despite the amendment, by the late 1870s discriminatory practices were used to prevent blacks from exercising their right to vote, especially in the South. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, aimed to overcome all legal barriers at the state and local levels that denied African Americans their right to vote under the 15th Amendment. Fifteenth Amendment noun an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, prohibiting the restriction of voting rights “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Section 2. Specifically, it confirms the right to vote and lists conditions that are illegal to deny another person the right to vote. The 15th amendment protects the rights of Americans to vote in elections to elect their leaders. All Rights Reserved. Corrections? Watch the groundbreaking series reimagined. Differing interpretations of the amendment have fueled a long-running debate over gun control legislation and the ...read more, Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. Poll taxes in federal elections were abolished by the Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964), and in 1966 the Supreme Court extended that ban to state and local elections. Women would not receive that right until the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Watch ROOTS now on HISTORY. Fifteenth Amendment, amendment (1870) to the Constitution of the United States that guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The 15th amendment to the US Constitution stipulates that citizens shall not be denied the right to vote based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. Many African Americans were even elected to public office during the 1880s in the states that formerly had constituted the Confederate States of America. Omissions? The 15th Amendment states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”, The 15th Amendment granting African-American men the right to vote was adopted into the U.S. Constitution in 1870. Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer was a research editor at Encyclopædia Britannica. In 1848, the movement for women’s rights launched on a national level with the Seneca ...read more, The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution addresses what happens to the presidency and vice-presidency if the president and/or vice president dies, resigns or becomes incapacitated or disabled. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that legal barriers were outlawed at the state and local levels if they denied African-Americans their right to vote under the 15th Amendment. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), however, the Supreme Court struck down the section of the VRA that had been used to identify covered jurisdictions, effectively making the preclearance requirement unenforceable. Though the Union victory had given some 4 million slaves their freedom, the question of ...read more, The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech, religion and the press. The 15th Amendment states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The 15th Amendment granting African-American men the right to vote was adopted into the U.S. Constitution in 1870. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former slaves—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” One of three amendments passed during the Reconstruction ...read more, The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865 in the aftermath of the Civil War, abolished slavery in the United States. Black Friday Sale! The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Amendment XV Section 1. Save 50% off a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 abolished prerequisites to registration and voting and also allowed for federal “preclearance” of changes in election laws in certain (“covered”) jurisdictions, including nine mostly Southern states. first African-American to sit in the U.S. Congress. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fifteenth-Amendment, Cornell University Law School - Legal Information Institute - Fifteenth Amendment, Fifteenth Amendment - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).

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