Jonah Patel
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1870, was a significant step towards racial equality in voting rights. This amendment removed racial barriers to voting, prohibiting the federal government and individual states from denying any citizen the right to vote based on their race, colour, or previous servitude. While this was a crucial milestone, it did not entirely prevent voter discrimination, and further legislation was required to strengthen and enforce these voting rights for racial minorities.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) |
| Ratified | February 3, 1870 |
| Purpose | Prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude |
| Voting Rights Act | Passed in 1965 to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment |
| Voting Rights Act Sections | Sections 4 and 5 required preclearance from covered jurisdictions for any new voting practices |
| Voting Rights Act Extensions | Extended in 1970, 1975, 1982, and 2019 |
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What You'll Learn
The Fifteenth Amendment
Before the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, African Americans faced significant barriers to political participation. The amendment was seen as a fulfilment of the promises made to African Americans, building upon the gains of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed citizenship. However, it is important to note that the amendment was just one step in a long journey towards full equality, and African Americans continued to face obstacles to voting and civic engagement for over a century.
Despite the progress made by the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the struggle for equal voting rights continued. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that involved federal oversight of voting rules in nine states, highlighting the ongoing challenges to ensuring fair and equal voting rights for racial minorities in the United States.
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark federal statute in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, during the height of the civil rights movement. The Act was designed to enforce the voting rights protected by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and aimed to secure the right to vote for racial minorities, especially in the South.
In the years following the Civil War, Southern states adopted discriminatory voting practices, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and other bureaucratic restrictions, which made it extremely difficult for African Americans to exercise their right to vote. Despite the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, which granted African American men the right to vote, discriminatory practices persisted, and African Americans in the South continued to face significant obstacles to voting.
In 1964, civil rights organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) advocated for federal action to protect the voting rights of racial minorities. Protests and peaceful demonstrations in Alabama, particularly in Selma, brought national attention to the issue of voting rights, as County Sheriff Jim Clark's police force violently resisted African-American voter registration efforts. The murder of voting rights activists in Mississippi and the attack on peaceful marchers in Selma, Alabama, further galvanised public support for change.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices and authorized federal supervision of voter registration where necessary. It abolished literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting and provided for the appointment of federal examiners with the power to register qualified citizens to vote in certain jurisdictions. Additionally, the Act required covered jurisdictions to obtain "preclearance" for any new voting practices and procedures, ensuring that voting rights for racial minorities were protected.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 had an immediate impact, with a significant increase in the registration of new Black voters. The Act has been extended and strengthened multiple times, including in 1970, 1975, and 1982, demonstrating its enduring importance in the struggle for voting rights and racial equality in the United States.
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Poll taxes
After the right to vote was granted to African American men through the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, several states enacted poll tax laws as a device to restrict voting rights. States such as Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Texas required proof of payment of a poll tax as a prerequisite for voter registration. The amount of the poll tax varied, but it often posed a significant financial burden on working-class and poor citizens, effectively disenfranchising them.
The poll tax, along with other discriminatory voting practices, was addressed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Passed in response to reports of continuing discrimination in Southern states, the Act provided federal enforcement to remove literacy tests and other tools used to prevent African Americans from voting. The Act also directed the Attorney General to challenge the use of poll taxes in state and local elections. In 1966, the poll tax was fully banned by a constitutional amendment, with Federal courts declaring poll tax laws in the remaining four states that still had them as unconstitutional.
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Literacy tests
The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. However, despite this amendment, Southern and Border states continued to find ways to disenfranchise Black citizens and prevent them from exercising their right to vote, including through the use of literacy tests.
The tests were intentionally confusing and difficult, with questions that were convoluted and nonsensical. For example, Louisiana's test consisted of 30 questions that had to be completed in 10 minutes, and a single wrong answer meant a failing grade. Even Black voters with college degrees were given failing scores due to biased scoring by judges.
The use of literacy tests as a prerequisite for voting was outlawed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. The Act enforced the 15th Amendment and abolished discriminatory voting practices, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and other bureaucratic restrictions that had been used to deny African Americans their right to vote.
While the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a significant step forward, it is important to note that it took nearly a century after the ratification of the 15th Amendment for this legislation to be passed, and even then, the struggle for racial equality in America continued.
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Racial discrimination
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870, was a significant step towards addressing racial discrimination in voting rights. This amendment explicitly prohibited the federal government and individual states from denying or restricting a citizen's right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It was a crucial development in the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War, as it granted African American men the right to vote, marking a shift towards greater racial equality.
However, despite the protections afforded by the Fifteenth Amendment, racial discrimination in voting persisted, particularly in Southern states. African Americans faced numerous obstacles to exercising their voting rights, including poll taxes, literacy tests, bureaucratic restrictions, and even intimidation, violence, and economic reprisals. This period witnessed the emergence of "Jim Crow" laws, which disenfranchised not only African Americans but also many poor whites, while exempting white male voters through grandfather clauses.
In response to ongoing discriminatory voting practices, President Lyndon B. Johnson urged Congress in 1965 to pass legislation enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment. This resulted in the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which played a pivotal role in dismantling racial barriers to voting. The Act outlawed discriminatory practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and it authorized federal supervision of voter registration in certain jurisdictions to ensure compliance.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 underwent several extensions and amendments to strengthen its provisions. In 1970, 1975, and 1982, Congress extended and amended the Act to enhance its effectiveness. The 1982 extension included Section 5, which required jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting to obtain preclearance from the federal government before implementing any changes to their voting laws or practices. This section was upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court in South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966).
While the Fifteenth Amendment and the subsequent Voting Rights Act of 1965 represented significant strides towards racial equality in voting rights, the struggle for full equality continued. The enforcement and interpretation of these laws have been contested, reflecting the ongoing challenge of ensuring that all citizens, regardless of race, can exercise their fundamental right to vote without discrimination or barriers.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution.
The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote on the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".
The Fifteenth Amendment removed racial barriers to voting in 1870, granting African American men the right to vote. However, states continued to practice voter discrimination, and African Americans continued to face obstacles to voting, such as poll taxes and literacy tests.
