Amendment XV · Reconstruction Amendment
Fifteenth Amendment: Voting rights regardless of race
About 15 min total: 5 min reading + 10 min for its 7 practice questions
The vote cannot be denied because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
- Proposed by Congress
- February 26, 1869
- Ratified
- February 3, 1870
- Group
- Reconstruction Amendment
The text
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--
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
What it means
- Neither the U.S. nor any state may deny or abridge the right to vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude (having been enslaved).
- Southern states later evaded it with poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and white primaries, until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 enforced it.
Who proposed it
Senator William M. Stewart of Nevada guided it through the Senate and drafted the final version.
When it was proposed and ratified
- Proposed by Congress: February 26, 1869. House February 25, Senate February 26, 1869.
- Ratified: February 3, 1870. Iowa was the 28th of 37 states.
Amendments are not signed into law. Congress proposes them by a two-thirds vote of both houses, and they become part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify. The President has no formal role (Article V).
Why it was made
Republicans wanted to protect the votes of the newly freed men, especially in the South, and to secure Black voting in Northern and border states that still excluded it. The 14th Amendment had only penalized states that denied the vote; the 15th forbade racial voting bans outright.
Key Supreme Court cases
- Shelby County v. Holder (2013): Struck down the Voting Rights Act coverage formula Congress enacted under its 15th Amendment power (2013)
FCLE tips
- Last of the Reconstruction Amendments. It did not give women the vote.
| This | With this |
|---|---|
| 15th: race | 19th: sex; 24th: poll tax; 26th: age 18 |
Sources: National Archives (text and dates); Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov) (proposal and ratification history); U.S. Senate Historical Office and Library of Congress (sponsors).