Reconstruction - The 15th Amendment

The 15th Amendment

The 15th Amendment provides that governments in the United States may not prevent a citizen from voting because of his race, color or previous condition of servitude. It was ratified on February 3, 1870. Section 1 says: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, and section 2 states: The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. The 15th Amendment is the last of the three “Reconstruction amendments” that passed after the Civil War. This amendment prohibits the states or the federal government from using a citizen's race, color or previous status as a slave to be a voting qualification. Its basic purpose was to enfranchise former slaves who weren’t allowed to vote and weren’t even considered American citizens prior. The first person to vote under the provisions of the amendment was Thomas Mundy Peterson who cast his ballot in a school board election held on February 4, 1870, the day after the 15th Amendment was ratified. But it was not really until the Voting Rights Act in 1965, almost a century later, that the full promise of the 15th Amendment was actually achieved in all states.

After the passage on a per capita and absolute basis, more Blacks were elected to political office during the period from 1865 to 1880 than at any other time in American history. Although no state elected a Black governor during Reconstruction, a number of state legislatures were effectively under the control of a substantial Black caucus. These legislatures brought in programs such as, universal public education that are considered part of government's new duty, but at the time were seen as radical. They also set aside all racially-biased laws, even those prohibiting interracial marriage, or miscegenation.

Despite the efforts of groups like the Ku Klux Klan to intimidate Black voters and White Republicans, which was the political party of people who believed in progressive ideals, a unified nation and abolition of slavery. At last, there was assurance of federal support that meant that most Republican voters could both vote and rule in confidence. When an all-White mob attempted to take over the interracial government of New Orleans, President Ulysses S. Grant sent in federal troops to restore the elected mayor. However, after the close presidential election of Rutherford B. Hayes, he, in order to mollify the South, agreed to withdraw federal troops from New Orleans. He also overlooked voting-poll violence in the South that was occurring even after the 15th Amendment was passed. There were several attempts by the Republicans to pass laws assuring the rights of Black voters and to punish intimidators. It showed the unwillingness of a Congress under the Hayes administration to take any action at this time, bills that would require incidents of violence at polling places to be publicized were never passed. Without the restrictions, voting place violence against Blacks and Republicans increased, including instances of murder. Most of this was done without any interference by law enforcement, and sometimes with their cooperation.

By the 1890s, many Southern states had rigorous voter qualification laws, including literacy tests and poll taxes. Some states even made it difficult to find a place to register to vote; disenfranchisement continued. to deter certain groups of people from voting Congress proposed the 15th Amendment on February 26, 1869.

The following states ratified the amendment:

Nevada (March 1, 1869)	Wisconsin (March 5, 1869)	New York (April 14, 1869, rescinded on January 5, 1870, rescinded the rescission on March 30, 1970)	Vermont (October 20, 1869)	Kansas (January 19, 1870)
West Virginia (March 3, 1869)	Maine (March 11, 1869)	Indiana (May 14, 1869)	Alabama (November 16, 1869)	Ohio (January 27, 1870, after having rejected it on April 30, 1869)
Illinois (March 5, 1869)	Massachusetts (March 12, 1869)	Connecticut (May 19, 1869)	Missouri (January 7, 1870)	Georgia (February 2, 1870)
Louisiana (March 5, 1869)	Arkansas (March 15, 1869)	Florida (Jne 14, 1869)	Minnesota (January 13, 1870)	Iowa (February 3, 1870)
Michigan (March 5, 1869)	South Carolina (March 15, 1869)	New Hampshire (July 1, 1869)	Mississippi (January 17, 1870)
North Carolina (March 5, 1869)	Pennsylvania (March 25, 1869)	Virginia (October 8, 1869)	Rhode Island (January 18, 1870)

Ratification was completed on February 3, 1870. The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following states:

Nebraska (February 17, 1870)	Delaware (February 12, 1901, after having rejected it on March 18, 1869)	Maryland (May 7, 1973, after having rejected it on February 26, 1870)
Texas (February 18, 1870)	Oregon (February 24, 1959)	Kentucky (March 18, 1976, after having rejected it on March 12, 1869)
New Jersey (February 15, 1871, after having rejected it on February 7, 1870)	California (April 3, 1962, after having rejected it on January 28, 1870)	Tennessee (April 2, 1997, after having rejected it on November 16, 1869)

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