Simone Lawson
The right to vote in the United States has been contested since the nation's founding. The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, was the third and final Reconstruction Amendment that gave African American men the right to vote. Despite this, many were unable to exercise their right due to discriminatory practices and laws such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and violent intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan. The Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, gave women the right to vote, and the Twenty-fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further extended these protections, abolishing all remaining deterrents to voting and authorizing federal supervision of voter registration.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Amendment | 15th Amendment (Amendment XV) |
| Date Passed by Congress | February 26, 1869 |
| Date Ratified | February 3, 1870 |
| What it did | Prohibited the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude |
| Who it applied to | African American men |
| Subsequent Supreme Court Interpretations | Interpreted relatively narrowly by the Supreme Court throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, leading to the rise of "Jim Crow" laws and discriminatory practices that made it harder for African Americans to vote |
| Subsequent Legislation | The Voting Rights Act of 1965, extended in 1970, 1975, and 1982, abolished all remaining deterrents to exercising the right to vote and authorized federal supervision of voter registration where necessary |
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What You'll Learn
The 15th Amendment: Right to vote regardless of race
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as Amendment XV, was ratified on February 3, 1870. It was the third and final amendment of the Reconstruction Amendments. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or limiting a citizen's right to vote based on "race, colour, or previous condition of servitude".
Before the Civil War, the dominant measure for voter eligibility was that the prospective voter had to be a white male who owned property above a certain value. Some states and cities allowed free African Americans and women to vote, but these were exceptions. The Fifteenth Amendment was a remarkable accomplishment given the prevalence of slavery before the Civil War. It was also significant because, in the years following its ratification, African Americans—many of them newly freed slaves—exercised their right to vote, electing numerous black candidates. During Reconstruction, 16 black men served in Congress, and 2,000 black men served in elected local, state, and federal positions.
The text of the Fifteenth 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 power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation".
Despite the Fifteenth Amendment's significance, the right to vote was interpreted narrowly by the Supreme Court throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. The 1876 United States v. Reese case determined that the amendment did not grant the right to vote but instead prohibited its restriction. This decision contributed to the rise of "Jim Crow" laws in the Southern states, which undermined the newly achieved constitutional liberties of African Americans, including their right to vote. Discriminatory practices and laws, such as poll taxes, literary tests, and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, prevented many African Americans in the South from exercising their voting rights.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided further protections for voting rights by creating federal oversight of elections in discriminatory jurisdictions, banning literacy tests, and establishing legal remedies for those affected by voting discrimination.
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The 19th Amendment: Women's right to vote
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as Amendment XIX, prohibits the federal government and individual states from denying any citizen the right to vote based on their sex. This amendment was the culmination of a long and arduous journey for women's suffrage in the United States, which began in the mid-19th century.
The campaign for women's suffrage involved several generations of activists who lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practised civil disobedience to achieve what was considered a radical change to the Constitution. Notable activists include Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Burns, and Alice Paul. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878 but was rejected in 1887. In the following decades, some states passed suffrage acts, and by 1912, nine western states had adopted women's suffrage legislation. However, it wasn't until 1918 that President Woodrow Wilson announced his support for a suffrage amendment.
The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it. This amendment legally guaranteed American women the right to vote, enfranchising 26 million women in time for the 1920 election. The amendment was later challenged in court twice, in Leser v. Garnett and Fairchild v. Hughes, but it withstood both challenges.
While the 19th Amendment was a significant milestone for women's rights, it did not immediately extend voting rights to all women, particularly women of colour. The systemic racism in the South and other regions prevented many women of colour from exercising their right to vote. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the majority of women of colour gained equal access to the democratic process.
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The 24th Amendment: Removal of poll taxes
The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1964, removed poll taxes as a voting requirement. The amendment explicitly prohibits both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax as a condition for voting in federal elections. This amendment was a significant step towards ensuring that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have the right to vote.
The history of poll taxes in the United States is deeply rooted in racial discrimination and efforts to disenfranchise African Americans. While poll taxes were initially implemented as a method of taxation, they were eventually used as a tool to restrict voting rights. In the late 19th century, Southern states adopted poll taxes as part of a series of laws intended to exclude Black Americans from the political process without explicitly violating the Fifteenth Amendment, which guarantees the right to vote regardless of race or previous slave status.
The impact of the Fifteenth Amendment was limited by discriminatory practices, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses. Poll taxes disproportionately affected African Americans and poor whites, effectively disenfranchising them. The purpose of poll taxes was twofold: to prevent African Americans from voting and to discourage voting among poor whites who may have supported Populist and Fusionist candidates. Despite some initial resistance and legal challenges, the use of poll taxes persisted and was even upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1937 case of Breedlove v. Suttles.
It wasn't until the peak of the Civil Rights Movement in 1962 that Congress proposed the Twenty-fourth Amendment, and it was officially ratified in 1964. This amendment explicitly prohibited the use of poll taxes or any other tax as a voting requirement, ensuring that financial status would no longer be a barrier to political participation. While the Twenty-fourth Amendment addressed poll taxes at the federal level, it was not until 1966 that the Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections that poll taxes were unconstitutional at any level of elections.
The Twenty-fourth Amendment played a crucial role in expanding voting rights and removing economic barriers to voting. By prohibiting poll taxes, the amendment ensured that citizens' ability to participate in elections was no longer tied to their economic status. This amendment, along with other constitutional amendments, helped to shape a more inclusive and representative democracy in the United States.
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The 26th Amendment: Lowered voting age to 18
The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, was passed by Congress on March 23, 1971, and ratified on July 1, 1971. The amendment was the culmination of a decades-long, multi-generational fight dating back to World War II. During World War II, in 1942, Congress lowered the minimum age for the draft to 18, creating a discrepancy where young men were being drafted to fight for their country while being denied the right to vote. This led to the slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote," which became a rallying cry for a youth voting rights movement.
The movement to lower the voting age gained grassroots traction when newly elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed his support in his 1954 State of the Union address, urging Congress to propose a constitutional amendment permitting citizens to vote at 18. However, it wasn't until the mid-1960s, when the American public became disillusioned by the Vietnam War, that the movement gained widespread support. Protests and lobbying efforts, led by activists from the National Education Association and their allies, played a significant role in pushing for this change.
In 1965, Congress voted to add an amendment to the Voting Rights Act, lowering the voting age to 18 in federal, state, and local elections. However, this was met with legal challenges, and in the Oregon v. Mitchell case, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could only set the minimum voting age for federal elections, not state or local ones. This decision highlighted the need to amend the Constitution to ensure a uniform voting age across the nation.
The 26th Amendment states: "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 any state on account of age." The amendment passed through the Senate, House, and states in record time, demonstrating the urgency and broad support for this change. The impact of the 26th Amendment can be seen in the increased youth voter turnout in recent elections, with young people turning out to vote at the highest levels since the amendment's ratification.
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Voting Rights Act of 1965: Abolished deterrents to voting
The Fifteenth Amendment, passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870, granted all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. However, despite the amendment's significant impact, the right to vote was interpreted relatively narrowly by the Supreme Court throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. This narrow interpretation, along with discriminatory laws and practices, effectively denied many African Americans in the Southern states the right to vote.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark federal statute that sought to address these issues by prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, the Act was designed to enforce the voting rights protected by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. It specifically targeted discriminatory voting practices adopted in many Southern states, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and other bureaucratic restrictions that denied African Americans the right to vote.
One of the key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the outlawing of literacy tests as a prerequisite for voting. Literacy tests had been used as a tool to disenfranchise African Americans, and their elimination helped to increase voter registration among racial minorities. The Act also provided for the appointment of federal examiners, who were empowered to register qualified citizens to vote in "covered" jurisdictions. These federal examiners played a significant role in increasing voter registration among African Americans, with one-third of the new Black voters registered by the end of 1965 being registered by federal examiners.
Another important aspect of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was its requirement for preclearance by covered jurisdictions. According to Section 5 of the Act, these jurisdictions had to obtain preclearance from either the District Court for the District of Columbia or the U.S. Attorney General for any new voting practices and procedures. This provision ensured that discriminatory voting practices would not be implemented without federal oversight.
Additionally, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 included protections for minority voters at the polls. Federal observers were tasked with monitoring poll worker and voter conduct during elections, deterring and documenting instances of discriminatory conduct. This provision facilitated minority voter participation by holding election officials accountable for their actions and ensuring that qualified minority persons were not denied the right to cast a ballot.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 had an immediate impact, with a significant increase in Black voter registration in the Southern states. By the end of 1966, only four out of 13 Southern states had fewer than 50% of African Americans registered to vote. The Act has been recognised as one of the most effective pieces of federal civil rights legislation in the country, significantly changing the relationship between federal and state governments regarding voting rights.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870. It prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude.
Yes, the Fifteenth Amendment granted African American men the right to vote. However, many were unable to exercise this right due to literacy tests, poll taxes, and other barriers imposed by state laws and discrimination.
The Fifteenth Amendment was significant in prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. However, it was initially interpreted narrowly by the Supreme Court, allowing the rise of ""Jim Crow" laws and other discriminatory practices that restricted the voting rights of African Americans.
The Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, granted women the right to vote. The Twenty-fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes used to disenfranchise African American voters. The Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 for all elections.
In Smith v. Allwright (1944), the Court ruled that denying non-white voters a ballot in primary elections violated the Fifteenth Amendment. In Guinn v. United States (1915), the Court struck down an Oklahoma grandfather clause that exempted white voters from a literacy test, finding it discriminatory.
