[46][65] The Court later relied on this decision in Rice v. Cayetano (2000),[66] which struck down ancestry-based voting in elections for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; the ruling held that the elections violated the Fifteenth Amendment by using "ancestry as a racial definition and for a racial purpose". [56], Following Nixon, the Democratic Party's state convention instituted a rule that only whites could vote in its primary elections; the Court unanimously upheld this rule as constitutional in Grovey v. Townsend (1935), distinguishing the discrimination by a private organization from that of the state in the previous primary cases. slavery, bondage, or a condition in which one lacks the ability to make decisions for one’s self or determine one’s own way of life. [24], Though many of the original proposals for the amendment had been moderated by negotiations in committee, the final draft nonetheless faced significant hurdles in being ratified by three-fourths of the states. In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, "Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet. African Americans and women of all ethnicities have fought, and continue to fight, especially hard to have their voices heard. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Voting rights were further incorporated into the Constitution in the Nineteenth Amendment (voting rights for women) and the Twenty-fourth Amendment (prohibiting poll taxes in federal elections). On February 26, 1869, after rejecting more sweeping versions of a suffrage amendment, Congress proposed a compromise amendment banning franchise restrictions on the basis of race, color, or previous servitude. [44] However, as Reconstruction neared its end and federal troops withdrew, prosecutions under the Enforcement Acts dropped significantly. Code of Ethics. This, under the express provisions of the second section of the amendment, Congress may enforce by "appropriate legislation". [46], The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Sections 4 and 5 in South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966). Local and state governments found ways to weaken the amendment to prevent African Americans from voting. It was as much within the power of a State to exclude citizens of the United States from voting on account of race, &c., as it was on account of age, property, or education. [3] Republicans hoped to offset this advantage by attracting and protecting votes of the newly enfranchised black population. [61] In the last of the Texas primary cases, Terry v. Adams (1953),[62] the Court ruled that black plaintiffs were entitled to damages from a group that organized whites-only pre-primary elections with the assistance of Democratic party officials. (1865-1877) period during which the states formerly belonging to the Confederate States of America were transformed and integrated back into the United States following the Civil War. In the twentieth century, the Court began to interpret the amendment more broadly, striking down grandfather clauses in Guinn v. United States (1915) and dismantling the white primary system in the "Texas primary cases" (1927–1953). 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 United States v. Cruikshank (1876), the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government did not have the authority to prosecute the perpetrators of the Colfax massacre because they were not state actors. [41] Some Democrats even advocated a repeal of the amendment, such as William Bourke Cockran of New York. She or he will best know the preferred format. Investigate this complex period of national rebuilding and retrenchment further with these resources. White male-only primary elections also served to reduce the influence of black men in the political system. [4][5][6], In 1865, Congress passed what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1866, guaranteeing citizenship without regard to race, color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. [20] A proposal to specifically ban literacy tests was also rejected. However, with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, which had explicitly protected only male citizens in its second section, activists found the civil rights of women divorced from those of blacks. 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.” The 15th Amendment guaranteed African-American men the right to vote. By 1976, sixty-three percent of Southern blacks were registered to vote, a figure only five percent less than that for Southern whites. The bill also guaranteed equal benefits and access to the law, a direct assault on the Black Codes passed by many post-war Southern states. By 1869, amendments had been passed to abolish slavery and provide citizenship and equal protection under the laws, but the election of Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency in 1868 convinced a majority of Republicans that protecting the franchise of black male voters was important for the party's future. Because the full population of freed slaves would be now counted rather than the three-fifths mandated by the previous Three-Fifths Compromise, the Southern states would dramatically increase their power in the population-based House of Representatives. Following the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment by Congress, however, Republicans grew concerned over the increase it would create in the congressional representation of the Democratic-dominated Southern states. [16] In the South, Blacks were able to vote in many areas, but only through the intervention of the occupying Union Army. [15] Northern states were generally as averse to granting voting rights to blacks as Southern states. The Court declared that the Fifteenth Amendment "commands that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race or color, and it gives Congress the power to enforce that command. 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: It's a remarkable accomplishment given that slavery was such a dominant institution before the Civil War. The Black Codes attempted to return ex-slaves to something like their former condition by, among other things, restricting their movement, forcing them to enter into year-long labor contracts, prohibiting them from owning firearms, and by preventing them from suing or testifying in court. Sections 4 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act required states and local governments with histories of racial discrimination in voting to submit all changes to their voting laws or practices to the federal government for approval before they could take effect, a process called "preclearance". However, in Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court ruled that Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which established the coverage formula that determined which jurisdictions were subject to preclearance, was no longer constitutional and exceeded Congress's enforcement authority under Section 2 of the Fifteenth Amendment. [29] Some Radical Republicans, such as Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, abstained from voting because the amendment did not prohibit literacy tests and poll taxes. After a bitter struggle that included attempted rescissions of ratification by two states, the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted on July 28, 1868. [10] Despite this victory, even some Republicans who had supported the goals of the Civil Rights Act began to doubt that Congress possessed the constitutional power to turn those goals into laws. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish certified the amendment on March 30, 1870,[24][35] also including the ratifications of: The remaining seven states all subsequently ratified the amendment:[36], The amendment's adoption was met with widespread celebrations in black communities and abolitionist societies; many of the latter disbanded, feeling that black rights had been secured and their work was complete. [23] Newly elected President Ulysses S. Grant strongly endorsed the amendment, calling it "a measure of grander importance than any other one act of the kind from the foundation of our free government to the present day." After an acrimonious debate, the American Equal Rights Association, the nation's leading suffragist group, split into two rival organizations: the National Woman Suffrage Association of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who opposed the amendment, and the American Woman Suffrage Association of Lucy Stone and Henry Browne Blackwell, who supported it. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. He privately asked Nebraska's governor to call a special legislative session to speed the process, securing the state's ratification. Privacy Notice |  However, in February 1870, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas ratified the amendment, bringing the total ratifying states to twenty-nine—one more than the required twenty-eight ratifications from the thirty-seven states, and forestalling any court challenge to New York's resolution to withdraw its consent. The two groups remained divided until the 1890s. [17] Congress had granted suffrage to Blacks in the territories by passing the Territorial Suffrage Act in 1867. "[71] According to the Court, "Regardless of how to look at the record no one can fairly say that it shows anything approaching the 'pervasive', 'flagrant', 'widespread', and 'rampant' discrimination that faced Congress in 1965, and that clearly distinguished the covered jurisdictions from the rest of the nation." 15th Amendment; 15th Amendment Primary tabs. 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.” Section 1. In the year of its ratification, only eight Northern states allowed Blacks to vote. A voter is a citizen who has the legal right to help make decisions for the nation. Almost immediately after ratification, African Americans began to take part in running for office and voting. [67], After judicial enforcement of the Fifteenth Amendment ended grandfather clauses, white primaries, and other discriminatory tactics, Southern black voter registration gradually increased, rising from five percent in 1940 to twenty-eight percent in 1960. [24][26] The House of Representatives passed the amendment with 143 Republican and 1 Conservative Republican votes of "Yes"; 39 Democrat, 3 Republican, 1 Independent Republican and 1 Conservative votes of "No"; 26 Republican, 8 Democrat and 1 Independent Republican not voting. Section 2. Washington, DC 20036, National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. After surviving a difficult ratification fight, the amendment was certified as duly ratified and part of the Constitution on March 30, 1870. [19][24] New York, which had ratified on April 14, 1869, tried to revoke its ratification on January 5, 1870. morals and behaviors deemed acceptable by society. The House vote was almost entirely along party lines, with no Democrats supporting the bill and only 3 Republicans voting against it,[25] some because they thought the amendment did not go far enough in its protections. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided federal oversight of elections in discriminatory jurisdictions, banned literacy tests and similar discriminatory devices, and created legal remedies for people affected by voting discrimination. [30] Following congressional approval, the proposed amendment was then sent by Secretary of State William Henry Seward to the states for ratification or rejection. [13], On June 18, 1866, Congress adopted the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the laws regardless of race, and sent it to the states for ratification. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. After the  United States Civil War (1861-1865) devastated the country, President Abraham Lincoln aimed to reunite the nation as quickly as possible. [2], In the final years of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era that followed, Congress repeatedly debated the rights of black former slaves freed by the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1865 Thirteenth Amendment, the latter of which had formally abolished slavery. [45][46][a], Congress further weakened the acts in 1894 by removing a provision against conspiracy. Before its adoption, this could be done. [57][58] However, in United States v. Classic (1941),[59] the Court ruled that primary elections were an essential part of the electoral process, undermining the reasoning in Grovey. In Nixon v. Herndon (1927),[53] Dr. Lawrence A. Nixon sued for damages under federal civil rights laws after being denied a ballot in a Democratic party primary election on the basis of race. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. It was ratified on February 3, 1870,[1] as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments. That right is an exemption from discrimination in the exercise of the elective franchise on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This resulted in most black voters and many poor white ones being disenfranchised by poll taxes and discriminatory literacy tests, among other barriers to voting, from which white male voters were exempted by grandfather clauses. The Enforcement Acts were passed by Congress in 1870–1871 to authorize federal prosecution of the KKK and others who violated the amendment. It places their fortunes in their own hands. [46] In Guinn v. United States (1915),[50] a unanimous Court struck down an Oklahoma grandfather clause that effectively exempted white voters from a literacy test, finding it to be discriminatory. © 1996 - 2020 National Geographic Society. [69][70], Congress used its authority pursuant to Section 2 of the Fifteenth Amendment to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, achieving further racial equality in voting. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. However, voting for them was almost nonexistent in some places, especially in the South, because of threats, violence, and unethical practices, like poll taxes. A system of white primaries and violent intimidation by white groups also suppressed black participation. [71][74], Media related to Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution at Wikimedia Commons, Article of amendment to the U.S. Constitution, enumerating prohibition of federal and state governments denying right to vote on account of race, Congressional Globe, 39th Congress, 2nd Session, pp. In the final years of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era that followed, Congress repeatedly debated the rights of the millions of former black slaves. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. However, a week after the war ended, Lincoln was assassinated and Andrew Johnson was sworn in as President. Disenfranchisement is the word used to describe laws passed to prevent people from voting and obtaining rights other citizens have.The actions to prevent African Americans from exercising their civil rights became known as “Jim Crow” laws. The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Jim Crow laws were enforced by election boards or by groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, who intimidated African Americans with violence if they voted or wished to do so. Some examples of Jim Crow laws are poll taxes (a fee required to vote—generally not applied to white voters), literacy tests (the Mississippi test asked applicants to copy a portion of the state constitution at the white administrator's discretion), or owning property as a condition of voting. Terms of Service |  [11][12] The experience encouraged both radical and moderate Republicans to seek Constitutional guarantees for black rights, rather than relying on temporary political majorities. [24], The first twenty-eight states to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment were:[34]. [41][42] The Court also stated that the amendment does not confer the right of suffrage, but it invests citizens of the United States with the right of exemption from discrimination in the exercise of the elective franchise on account of their race, color, or previous condition of servitude, and empowers Congress to enforce that right by "appropriate legislation". [46] Although the Fifteenth Amendment was never interpreted to prohibit poll taxes, in 1962 the Twenty-fourth Amendment was adopted banning poll taxes in federal elections, and in 1966 the Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1966)[68] that state poll taxes violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. "[2] To attract the broadest possible base of support, the amendment made no mention of poll taxes or other measures to block voting, and did not guarantee the right of blacks to hold office. United States Supreme Court decisions in the late nineteenth century interpreted the amendment narrowly. [21], A House and Senate conference committee proposed the amendment's final text, which banned voter restriction only on the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Despite the amendment, by the late 1870s discriminatory practices were used to prevent blacks from exercising t… The 15th Amendment guaranteed African-American men the right to vote. Based on Classic, the Court in Smith v. Allwright (1944),[60] overruled Grovey, ruling that denying non-white voters a ballot in primary elections was a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment. "[22] Congressman John R. Lynch later wrote that ratification of those two amendments made Reconstruction a success.[37]. After the United States Civil War, state governments that had been part of the Confederacy tried to limit the voting rights of black citizens and prevent contact between black and white citizens in public places. [8][9] Three weeks later, Johnson's veto was overridden and the measure became law. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. [18], Anticipating an increase in Democratic membership in the following Congress, Republicans used the lame-duck session of the 40th United States Congress to pass an amendment protecting black suffrage. [24] The New England states and most Midwest states also ratified the amendment soon after its proposal. It prevents the States, or the United States, however, from giving preference, in this particular, to one citizen of the United States over another on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. All rights reserved. [7] Although strongly urged by moderates in Congress to sign the bill, President Johnson vetoed it on March 27, 1866. to take away certain rights, usually voting. A number of blacks were killed at the Colfax massacre of 1873 while attempting to defend their right to vote. Section 2. [19] Southern states still controlled by Radical reconstruction governments, such as North Carolina, also swiftly ratified. [14], Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment punished, by reduced representation in the House of Representatives, any state that disenfranchised any male citizens over 21 years of age. [54] After Texas amended its statute to allow the political party's state executive committee to set voting qualifications, Nixon sued again; in Nixon v. Condon (1932),[55] the Court again found in his favor on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment. [48], From 1890 to 1910, poll taxes and literacy tests were instituted across the South, effectively disenfranchising the great majority of black men. 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. Fifteenth Amendment Annotated Section 1 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 … [51][52], The Court addressed the white primary system in a series of decisions later known as the "Texas primary cases". From 1890 to 1910, southern states adopted new state constitutions and enacted laws that raised barriers to voter registration. [38] 381–8, Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections, Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, "All Amendments to the United States Constitution", "Fifteenth Amendment: Framing and ratification", "Black Voting Rights: The History of the 15th Amendment", "Congratulating the Republican Party for according voting rights to African-Americans", "Congressional Globe, House of Representatives, 40th Congress, 3rd Session, page 1563-1564 In: A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875", "Congressional Globe, Senate, 40th Congress, 3rd Session, page 1641 In: A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875", "Uncle Sam's Thanksgiving Dinner, Artist: Thomas Nast", "Uncle Sam's Thanksgiving Dinner: Two Coasts, Two Perspectives", "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875, Statutes at Large", "Black Americans got the right to vote 150 years ago, but voter suppression still a problem", "Fifteenth Amendment (Judicial Interpretation)", "Race and the right to vote after Rice v. Cayetano", "Between the Lines of the Voting Rights Act Opinion", "John Lewis and others react to the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act ruling", "Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, Attorney General", Fifteenth Amendment and related resources at the Library of Congress, CRS Annotated Constitution: Fifteenth Amendment, "Campaign to Commemorate 150th Anniversary of the 15th Amendment", Parental Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, Proposed "Liberty" Amendment to the United States Constitution, Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction era, National Women's Rights Convention (1850–1869), Women's suffrage organizations and publications, Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial, Centenary of Women's Suffrage Commemorative Fountain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fifteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution&oldid=989783592, Amendments to the United States Constitution, History of voting rights in the United States, Articles with dead external links from September 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 21 November 2020, at 00:31. But the history of the 15th Amendment also shows rights can never be taken for granted: Things can be achieved and things can be taken away. [24] The struggle for ratification was particularly close in Indiana and Ohio, which voted to ratify in May 1869 and January 1870, respectively. The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." The Court ruled in the related case Myers v. Anderson (1915), that the officials who enforced such a clause were liable for civil damages. 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. [39] African Americans—many of them newly freed slaves—put their newfound freedom to use, voting in scores of Black candidates. [23][24], The vote in the House was 144 to 44, with 35 not voting. During Reconstruction, 16 Black men served in Congress and 2,000 Black men served in elected local, state and federal positions according to Columbia University history professor Eric Foner.[38]. 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." For a while, President Johnson followed Lincoln’s plan, but then implemented his own in May of 1865. 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 Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Now it is not. Historian William Gillette wrote of the process, "it was hard going and the outcome was uncertain until the very end. However, it was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress that the majority of African Americans would be truly free to register and vote in large numbers. [22] This compromise proposal was approved by the House on February 25, 1869, and the Senate the following day. Sustainability Policy |  [19] Some Representatives from the North, where nativism was a major force, wished to preserve restrictions denying the franchise to foreign-born citizens, as did Representatives from the West, where ethnic Chinese were banned from voting. [43], White supremacists, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), used paramilitary violence to prevent blacks from voting. The Court also found poll taxes in state election unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1966). The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Here, people in Harlem, New York City, around 1954, wait to vote. 1145 17th Street NW If citizens of one race having certain qualifications are permitted by law to vote, those of another having the same qualifications must be. You cannot download interactives. [33], Nevada was the first state to ratify the amendment, on March 1, 1869.

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