Why Is The 15 Amendment Important

The 15th amendment gave African American men the right to vote by saying 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." Sadly, African American men wouldn’t be able to exercise this right for almost a whole century. Using literacy tests, poll taxes, and other methods Southern states could prevent African Americans from voting. It took the passing of Voting Rights Act of 1965 before most African Americans in the South could vote. Woman went

The Fifteenth Amendment gave black males over the age of 21 the right to vote. However, southern states set up poll taxes and literacy test in order to keep most blacks from voting. In order to keep the white votes they set up the grandfather clause, which allowed the seventy-five percent of the poor illiterate white people to still vote if they were the son or grandson of someone who was eligible to vote before 1867.

Soon after passage of the Voting Rights Act, federal examiners were conducting voter registration, and black voter registration began a sharp increase. The cumulative effect of the Supreme Court’s decisions, Congress’ enactment of voting rights legislation, and the ongoing efforts of concerned private citizens and the Department of Justice, has been to restore the right to vote guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. The Voting Rights Act itself has been called the single most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever passed by

The right to vote for African American became difficult during the time because the northern didn’t want to consider the blacks as equal to the society. As Frederick Douglass, has once stated “Slavery is not abolished until the black man has the ballot.” African American fought their way to gain their right to vote is by coming together, free blacks and emancipated slaves, to create parades, petition drives to demand, and to organize their own “freedom ballots.” As a free African American, they except the same respect as the whites and nothing

Following the American Civil War, the bloodiest armed conflict on US soil, slavery had been outlawed from the US. It had taken the US until January 31, 1865, less than two-hundred years ago, for slavery to be abolished. Yet, it was still abolished, albeit, later than many other nations throughout the world. It had taken yet over another year for the fourteenth amendment to be passed in June 13, 1866, making all former slaves into citizens. But, perhaps the greatest and most important right of all, the right essential to any democracy or republic, the right to vote, was given to former slaves through the fifteenth amendment.

Though the federal government created Amendments giving rights to slaves, opposers prevented them from benefitting from their rights. Within the 13th Amendment, the national government affirmed that slavery wouldn’t be accepted in our country “except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted”. The added exception allows states to determine what crime is appropriate for the punishment that is similar, if not identical, to slavery. The state governments used the exception to their advantage, creating minute laws with severe punishments. Then the national government establish the 15th Amendment, giving the freed black men the opportunity to vote, as the right to vote couldn’t be denied “on account of race, color,

Before the Civil War, there were no federal laws to protect voting rights. Only white males had the right to vote. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was established which stated “Specifically that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on the basis of race, or previous condition of servitude” (Introduction to Federal Voting Rights Laws). This amendment gives all Americans the right to be a voice of change for the people by electing officials who will make a difference in their communities. Unfortunately, one mistake can cause you to lose this right forever. As stated by Eric H. Holder, JD, US Attorney General, in his Feb. 11, 2014, speech;

In the wake of the passage of the 13th and 14th amendment, the 15th amendment gave “the right of citizens of the United States to vote and

Nearly 100 years after the 15th amendment was ratified, vast disparities and blatant discrimination in voting process and practice were still pervasive, particularly in certain southern states like Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) was enacted by congress to address this enduring inequity. Section 5 of the VRA requires that states meeting criteria set out in section 4(b) of the act, must obtain federal “preclearance” before enacting any laws that affect voting. Section 4(b) provides the conditions for the preclearance requirement as state or jurisdictions where less than 50% of minorities were registered to vote in 1964.

Throughout America’s history the franchise has been withheld from different groups. This has been possible due to weakly written laws that do not provide adequate protections. In 1965 PL 89-110 was passed, this law, commonly known as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, finally provided real protections for minorities living in southern states. In recent years the language of the law was modified within the Supreme Court to take away the law’s primary power. In the following mock Congressional testimony we will go back to 1848, 13 years before the American Civil War, and provide evidence of why a law like PL 89-110 is necessary and commendable.

African Americans were almost completely subjugated throughout the states and many had been brutally beaten. Even after adding the 15th Amendment to the constitution, which gave all men, regardless of race or color, the right to vote, many states continued to use numerous different methods to prevent African Americans from voting.

The Fifteenth Amendment granted black men to vote. Put emphasis on men because at this time women still couldn't vote.This amendment would not be fully followed until almost a century. What the government did was that they made a literacy test so difficult that no slave could pass because they had no education. So no blacks could vote really for a long time. So to loop their loophole that made a rule called the Grandfather Clause. This made if your grandfather could vote you did not have to take the literacy test. So every white person's grandfather could vote since they lived in england. So this rule did not apply to blacks since their grandfathers were black and could not vote. One of the main reasons that they made this rule is because

In the year 1870 the 15th amendment was passed. The fithteenth amendemt 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” (Mcneese, Tim). But even though this was passed blacks still saw a problem voting. America started the Jim

The Voting Rights Act 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973 et seq., decision is important regarding the laws governing voting rights and their relationship to minority voters. Its implication and effects however does not end within the legal realms and dimensions but continues through to society, culture, and human rights. The Voting Rights Act initially established in 1965 under Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration protected “racial minorities” from biased voting practices. It was a huge stride in the civil rights movement and a victory over harmful, archaic, and biased voting practices and traditions.

The Passing of the 15th amendment in 1868 did give black men the right to vote. They were able to vote but were not permitted because they were blocked at the poles with threats of violence and death. The violence and intimidation of the Ku Klux Klan had a lot to do with the blocking of the blacks at the voting polls.