Good Day World!
We – Americans - must never take the right to vote lightly. The fight minorities faced in the past – and still face today in some places – needs to be recognized.
Voting is one of our greatest freedoms. It was on February 3, 1870 – that the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing the right of citizens to vote, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
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Graphic
"The first vote"
A.R. Waud.
Wood engraving. 1867.
Prints & Photographs Division.
Reproduction Number:
LC-USZ62-19234
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The 15th Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring 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."
Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century. Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans.
It would take the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before the majority of African Americans in the South were registered to vote.
- The House of Representatives passed the 15th Amendment on February 25, 1869, by a vote of 144 to 44
- The Senate passed the 15th Amendment on February 26, 1869, by a vote of 39 to 13.
- The text of the 15th Amendment can be found in the United States Statutes at Large, volume 16, page 346 (15 Stat. 346).
- Secretary of State Hamilton Fish issued a proclamation certifying the ratification of the 15th Amendment by the states on March 30, 1870.
Time for me to walk on down the road…
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