The Amendment That Empowered Black Voters

The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. This amendment, proposed in the final years of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era that followed, was the third and final of the Reconstruction Amendments, which also included the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, and the Fourteenth Amendment, granting citizenship. Despite the Fifteenth Amendment's guarantee of voting rights for African American men, they continued to face barriers to voting due to discriminatory state laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation by groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

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The Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on February 3, 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. The official text of the amendment is as follows:

> 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 the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Before the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, only white men were allowed to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment extended voting rights to men of all races, regardless of their ethnicity or prior slave status. This amendment was significant because it appeared to signify the fulfillment of all promises to African Americans, who had been set free by the Thirteenth Amendment and granted citizenship by the Fourteenth Amendment.

However, despite the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, African Americans continued to face barriers to voting due to state constitutions and laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, "grandfather clauses," and intimidation. The grandfather clauses were particularly insidious, as they restricted voting rights to men whose male ancestors had been allowed to vote before a certain date, which was often before African American men gained the right to vote. As a result, the descendants of formerly enslaved people were effectively disenfranchised.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) played a crucial role in challenging these discriminatory laws and protecting the voting rights of African Americans. They persuaded the United States attorney general to challenge the "grandfather clause" in the Oklahoma constitution as a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment, and the Supreme Court eventually ruled that the Oklahoma law was unconstitutional.

While the Fifteenth Amendment was an important step in the struggle for equality, it would still be many decades before African Americans could fully participate in American public life and exercise their constitutional right to vote.

The right to vote for men of all races

The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. Before this, only white men were allowed to vote, and citizenship had been guaranteed only to male citizens in the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fifteenth Amendment was the third and final Reconstruction Amendment, following the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, which abolished slavery and provided citizenship and equal protection under the laws for African Americans.

The Fifteenth Amendment was a significant step towards racial equality in the United States, as it prohibited the federal government or any state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Despite this amendment, African Americans continued to face barriers to voting due to discriminatory state laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, "grandfather clauses," and intimidation by groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

The right to vote for African American men was further protected by the Enforcement Acts, passed by Congress in 1870-1871, which authorized the federal prosecution of groups like the KKK that violated the amendment. The Supreme Court also played a role in upholding voting rights, with cases like Guinn v. United States in 1915 declaring the "grandfather clause" unconstitutional. However, narrow interpretations of the Fifteenth Amendment by the Supreme Court in the late 19th and early 20th centuries contributed to the rise of "Jim Crow" laws in the South, which created additional barriers to voter registration for African Americans.

It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that federal laws were enacted to enforce the amendments and secure voting rights for adult citizens of all races and genders. This act provided federal enforcement to remove literacy tests and other tools used to prevent African Americans from voting, and it authorized federal supervision of voter registration. The Twenty-fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, also played a role in addressing voting injustices by prohibiting the use of poll taxes in federal elections.

African American males' voting rights

The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. Before this, only white men were allowed to vote, and even after the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, African Americans continued to be denied the right to vote through various discriminatory state laws and practices, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation.

The Fifteenth Amendment was the third and final Reconstruction Amendment, following the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, which abolished slavery and provided citizenship to formerly enslaved Americans, respectively. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the federal government or any state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Despite the significance of the Fifteenth Amendment, it did not grant voting rights to women, and it was interpreted narrowly by the Supreme Court throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. This narrow interpretation, along with the rise of ""Jim Crow" laws in the Southern states, undermined the voting rights that the Amendment had granted to African Americans.

To address ongoing voting rights issues, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, providing federal enforcement to remove literacy tests and other tools used to prevent African Americans from voting. The Act also prevented states from changing voting requirements or district boundaries without federal review. The Twenty-fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, further supported voting rights by prohibiting the use of poll taxes in federal elections.

While these amendments and acts expanded voting rights for African Americans, it was a continuous struggle to fully secure and protect these rights, with ongoing efforts to strengthen and safeguard them.

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Obstacles to voting rights

The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on February 3, 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. However, this did not mean that Black men could exercise their right to vote freely. There were many obstacles in place that prevented them from voting, and the Fifteenth Amendment was not enough to secure their voting rights.

One of the obstacles was the "grandfather clause", which restricted voting rights to men who were allowed to vote, or whose ancestors were allowed to vote, before 1867. For example, Oklahoma passed a constitutional amendment in 1910 that stated only citizens whose grandfathers had voted in 1865 could vote. This disqualified the descendants of formerly enslaved people from voting. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed to protect and expand the rights of African Americans, and they used legal action to challenge the "grandfather clause" in the Oklahoma constitution as a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment.

Another obstacle was the use of poll taxes, which were a form of voter suppression originally directed at Black Americans, especially in Southern states. Poll taxes, along with literacy tests, were used to prevent Black citizens from voting. Literacy tests were used to determine whether a person met the literacy requirements for voting, but in the South, they were used to prevent Black Americans from registering to vote.

Intimidation and fraud were also used to deny African Americans their right to vote. During the Jim Crow era, many African Americans who attempted to register to vote were threatened with physical violence or made to fear losing their jobs and homes.

Despite these obstacles, African Americans continued to fight for their right to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided federal enforcement to remove literacy tests and other tools used to prevent African Americans from voting. It also banned poll taxes in federal elections and prevented states from changing voting requirements or district boundaries without federal review. The Act has been amended and renewed several times since 1965, and it continues to be a crucial tool in securing voting rights for all citizens, regardless of race or gender.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

The passage of the Voting Rights Act was spurred by civil rights leaders' peaceful demonstrations and protests in Alabama, particularly in Selma, where violent resistance to African American voter registration efforts gained national attention. The murder of voting rights activists and the attack on peaceful marchers in Selma persuaded President Johnson and Congress to initiate meaningful voting rights legislation.

The Act had an immediate impact, with a significant increase in Black voter registration by the end of 1965. It was subsequently readopted and strengthened in 1970, 1975, and 1982, with Congress expanding its coverage and protections. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains a crucial safeguard for Black Americans and other minority groups, ensuring their power, agency, and access to the ballot box.

While the Act has faced legal challenges and threats to its survival over the years, it is widely recognized as one of the most effective civil rights laws in US history. It has been amended multiple times to expand its protections, demonstrating the ongoing struggle to protect and advance voting rights for racial minorities in the United States.

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