Whose right to vote was protected by the fifteenth amendment to the constitution in 1869?

This series was written by Dr. Megan Bailey, intern with the Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education.

Whose right to vote was protected by the fifteenth amendment to the constitution in 1869?
Electioneering in the South, circa 1868.

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library.
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-3fa3-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

“Do you believe the Declaration of Independence … that men are created with equal rights…?”

Harper’s Weekly editor George William Curtis posed this question in 1865. Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier, and the United States was in the process of ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. The amendment ensured the freedom of enslaved African Americans, though they still lacked many rights and protections.

Whose right to vote was protected by the fifteenth amendment to the constitution in 1869?
Voter Registration, Macon, Ga.

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library.
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-3fa4-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

One of those rights was the right to vote, also known as suffrage or enfranchisement. African Americans had been fighting for the right to participate in the political process since before the Civil War. They argued that they deserved the same rights as white citizens. Furthermore, over 200,000 Black men had fought in the Civil War. They believed that they should be rewarded for their service with full citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, stated that everyone born or naturalized in the U.S. was a citizen. African Americans were now citizens, but they still could not vote.

Whose right to vote was protected by the fifteenth amendment to the constitution in 1869?
“The National Colored Convention in Session at Washington, DC.” Harper’s Weekly (February 6, 1869).

Courtesy of the Library Company of Philadelphia, https://librarycompany.org/

In 1869, Republicans in Congress proposed another amendment to address suffrage. The Fifteenth Amendment would guarantee protection against racial discrimination in voting. Many women’s rights activists objected to the proposed amendment because the protections would only apply to men. Still, enough states approved the Fifteenth Amendment that it was adopted in 1870.

Whose right to vote was protected by the fifteenth amendment to the constitution in 1869?
Freedmen Voting In New Orleans, circa 1867.

Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-3fd9-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Black men began voting in local, state, and national elections, and ran for political office. Their votes and leadership helped create access to jobs, housing, and education for African Americans. However, in the 1890s many Southern states passed laws that made it more difficult for African Americans to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment had a significant loophole: it did not grant suffrage to all men, but only prohibited discrimination on the basis of race and former slave status. States could require voters to pass literacy tests or pay poll taxes -- difficult tasks for the formerly enslaved, who had little education or money. Because of these discriminatory laws, only a small number of African Americans voted over the next 70 years. During the twentieth century, African Americans fought for civil rights through organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League and through the efforts of individuals like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. The Voting Rights Act, adopted in 1965, offered greater protections for suffrage.

Though the Fifteenth Amendment had significant limitations, it was an important step in the struggle for voting rights for African Americans and it laid the groundwork for future civil rights activism.

Consider This:

  • What does citizenship mean to you?

  • How do you define being free? Are you free?

What was the party vote on the 15th Amendment?

According to the Library of Congress, in the House of Representatives 144 Republicans voted to approve the 15th Amendment, with zero Democrats in favor, 39 no votes, and seven abstentions. In the Senate, 33 Republicans voted to approve, again with zero Democrats in favor.

Who was president 15th Amendment?

President Ulysses S. Grant's special message to Congress regarding the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, March 30, 1870.

Who got African Americans the right to vote?

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution (1868) granted African Americans the rights of citizenship. However, this did not always translate into the ability to vote. Black voters were systematically turned away from state polling places. To combat this problem, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870.