What did the 15th Amendment say exactly?

FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT

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 ser- vitude.

What 3 things did the 15th Amendment do?

Fifteenth Amendment, amendment (1870) to the Constitution of the United States that guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The amendment complemented and followed in the wake of the passage of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments, which …

Why is the 15th Amendment Important?

Although the Fifteenth Amendment does not play a major, independent role in cases today, its most important role might be the power it gives Congress to enact national legislation that protects against race-based denials or abridgements of the right to vote.

Who did the 15th Amendment exclude?

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 of servitude.

How did the 15th Amendment change the United States?

The 15th Amendment guaranteed African-American men the right to vote. Almost immediately after ratification, African Americans began to take part in running for office and voting.

When did the first black man vote?

Thomas Mundy Peterson (October 6, 1824 – February 4, 1904) of Perth Amboy, New Jersey has been claimed to be the first African-American to vote in an election under the just-enacted provisions of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

How did the 15th Amendment impact civil rights?

The last of the “Reconstruction Amendments,” the Fifteenth Amendment banned the denial or abridgment of suffrage on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It effectively gave African-American men the right to vote. The immediate effects of the Fifteenth Amendment were dramatic.

How did Jim Crow laws violate the 15th Amendment?

Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down segregation on interstate transportation because it impeded interstate commerce. In Smith v. Allwright the court ruled that the Southern practice of holding whites-only primary elections violated the 15th Amendment.

Why did the 15th Amendment fail?

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.

What were some of the biggest barriers to the success of the 15th Amendment?

What were some of the biggest barriers to the success of the 15th Amendment? There were many methods used to hot wire the amendment: violence, threats, economic pressure, illegal literacy tests. What was the idea behind citizens owning property in order to vote? Most likely made so African Americans couldn’t vote.

What effect did the 15th Amendment have on former Confederate states?

The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was aimed directly at curtailing attempts by the former Confederate states to exclude former slaves from voting and at the persistent violence over their political participation.