Omar Bennett
The right to vote in the United States has been expanded over time through a series of constitutional amendments. The original Constitution did not explicitly protect the right to vote, leaving eligibility criteria to the states, which generally restricted voting rights to white male landowners. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, expanded voting rights by prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. Despite this, many African Americans were unable to exercise their right to vote due to discriminatory practices and laws. The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, extended voting rights to women, and the 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes used to disenfranchise African Americans. The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the minimum voting age to 18. These amendments, along with federal laws like the Voting Rights Act of 1965, have played a crucial role in expanding and protecting voting rights in the United States.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Amendment number | 15th Amendment |
| Date of ratification | 3rd February 1870 |
| Who it expanded voting rights to | All male citizens regardless of their ethnicity or prior slave status |
| Who it banned discrimination by | The United States or any State |
| Type of discrimination banned | Based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude |
| Powers granted to Congress | The power to enforce the article by appropriate legislation |
| Impact | Interpreted relatively narrowly by the Supreme Court throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries |
| Supreme Court case | United States v. Reese (1876) |
| Supreme Court case ruling | The 15th Amendment prohibited restrictions on the right to vote based on race, but did not grant the right to vote |
| Supreme Court case impact | Led to the rise of "Jim Crow" laws in the Southern states |
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What You'll Learn
The 15th Amendment (1870)
The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified on February 3, 1870, grants all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or previous slave status. 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.
Prior to the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, the right to vote was often restricted to white males who owned property of a certain dollar value. While some states and cities allowed free African Americans and women to vote, they were few and scattered across the Northern states. The Fifteenth Amendment was the last of the Reconstruction Amendments and was seen as the final step in the reconstruction process.
Despite the amendment, many African Americans in the Southern states were still unable to exercise their right to vote due to discriminatory practices and laws such as poll taxes, literary tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation by white supremacist vigilante groups like the Ku Klux Klan. By the 20th century, the majority of African Americans in the South had little to no electoral power. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that these discriminatory laws and restrictions on voting rights were slowly eroded.
The Fifteenth Amendment had a significant impact on the political landscape of the country. In 1870, with the support of Black voters, the Republican Party gained control of most of the former Confederate states. 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. Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, became the first Black person to vote under the authority of the 15th Amendment.
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The 19th Amendment (1920)
The campaign for women's suffrage was long and challenging, with supporters employing a variety of strategies, including lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and civil disobedience. Activists like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Burns, and Alice Paul played pivotal roles in the movement. By 1916, most major suffrage organisations united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, on June 4, the Senate followed suit.
The amendment then needed to be ratified by three-fourths of the states to become law. This was achieved on August 18, 1920, when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920, marking a pivotal moment in American history and expanding voting rights for women. However, it is important to note that discriminatory state voting laws still prevented many minority women from exercising their right to vote, and the struggle for their inclusion in the promise of voting rights continued.
The 19th Amendment is celebrated annually on Women's Equality Day, which began on August 26, 1973. This day often receives heightened attention during momentous anniversaries. The amendment's passage was a significant milestone in the broader women's rights movement and a testament to the dedication and perseverance of women's suffrage supporters. It legally guarantees American women the right to vote and represents a crucial step towards a more inclusive democracy in the United States.
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The 24th Amendment (1964)
The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 23, 1964, prohibits both Congress and the states from imposing a poll tax or any other tax as a condition for voting in federal elections. The amendment was proposed by Congress on August 27, 1962, and ratified by the states just over a year later.
The poll tax was adopted by Southern states in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a way to disenfranchise African Americans and poor whites without violating the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibits restricting the right to vote based on "race, colour, or previous condition of servitude". While the 15th Amendment was a significant step towards racial equality, the right to vote was interpreted relatively narrowly by the Supreme Court throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, and discriminatory practices and laws, including poll taxes, were used to prevent African Americans in Southern states from exercising their constitutional rights.
The 24th Amendment was a response to these discriminatory practices and was supported by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who called it a "triumph of liberty over restriction" and "a verification of people's rights". The amendment was rapidly ratified by state legislatures across the country, with relatively little opposition.
The ratification of the 24th Amendment had a significant impact on voting rights in the United States. Within months of its ratification, Arkansas effectively repealed its poll tax for all elections, and in 1966, the US Supreme Court ruled poll taxes unconstitutional even for state elections in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections. This ruling struck down poll taxes in the remaining four states that had retained them: Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, and Virginia.
Overall, the 24th Amendment was an important step towards ensuring equal voting rights for all citizens, regardless of race or economic status, and it continues to protect the rights of voters in federal elections today.
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The 26th Amendment (1971)
The 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the voting age of US citizens from 21 to 18 years old. The official text of the amendment is as follows:
> "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age."
The sentiment to lower the voting age in the US dates back to World War II. As American involvement in the war increased, President Roosevelt lowered the draft age of young men from 21 to 18. This led to a sense of dismay among many, as they felt that if young men could fight and die for their country, they should also be able to participate in its democratic processes. The slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" became popular, reflecting the growing support for lowering the voting age.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, opposition to the Vietnam War further fuelled debates about lowering the voting age. With the age for the US military draft set at 18, many conscripted citizens were effectively being ordered to fight in a conflict that they had no political authority to vote on. This discrepancy between the draft age and the voting age led to a stronger push for change, with advocates arguing that if citizens were old enough to serve their country in the military, they should also have the right to vote.
The 26th Amendment has faced legal challenges since its ratification, with arguments surrounding issues such as voter representation, the extension of political institutions, and the validity of voter identification laws. Despite these challenges, the amendment stands as a significant milestone in the expansion of voting rights in the United States, ensuring that more young people have a say in the democratic processes that shape their nation.
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Voting Rights Act (1965)
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark federal statute 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 sought to secure the right to vote for racial minorities, especially in the South.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the most significant statutory change in the relationship between federal and state governments in the area of voting since the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. The Act immediately impacted the political landscape, with a quarter of a million new Black voters registered by the end of 1965, one-third by federal examiners. By the end of 1966, only four out of 13 southern states had fewer than 50% of African Americans registered to vote.
The Act outlawed discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. It also required certain places to provide election materials in languages other than English. The Act placed limits on certain states with a history of voter discrimination, requiring them to obtain federal approval before passing voter restrictions.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the culmination of years of advocacy and struggle by civil rights activists, including peaceful demonstrations and marches in Alabama, particularly in the city of Selma, where 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 by white state troopers on peaceful marchers in Selma, Alabama, gained national attention and persuaded President Johnson and Congress to initiate meaningful and effective national voting rights legislation.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been amended and readopted several times to expand its protections, including in 1970, 1975, and 1982. The most recent attempt to strengthen the right to vote is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, introduced in Congress in early 2019.
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Frequently asked questions
The 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, granted all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of their ethnicity or prior slave status.
The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, ensured that the right to vote could not be denied or abridged on account of sex.
The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, prohibited Congress and the states from implementing poll taxes or other types of taxes for federal elections.
The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, stated that no citizen aged 18 or older could be denied the right to vote on account of age.
