RSS Feed
News
Doc of the Day: The Fifteenth Amendment
02/03/10
The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which first extended voting rights to African-American men, was ratified on February 3, 1870. Advanced during the 12-year period known as Reconstruction following the Civil War, the amendment prohibited the federal or state governments from denying citizens the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” It was intended to help reverse the damages of slavery and promote equality in the South. Several former Confederate states were required to ratify the amendment as a condition of rejoining the Union.
Unfortunately, the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment did not secure black voting rights in the South. When Reconstruction ended in 1877, white authorities in Southern states instituted a number of voter qualification measures, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, to prevent African Americans from registering to vote. In addition, white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan used harassment, intimidation, and violence to discourage black voters from casting ballots. It took nearly a century before the promise of freedom and equality for African Americans in the South became a reality with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.