What did the 15th Amendment do?

Why This Matters

The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, gave all men the right to vote regardless of their race, color, or whether they had previously been enslaved. Before this amendment, individual states could decide who was allowed to vote, and most states in the South prevented African American men from casting ballots. The 15th Amendment made it unconstitutional for any state to deny the vote based on race.

This amendment was the last of the three Reconstruction Amendments passed after the Civil War. Together with the 13th Amendment (which ended slavery) and the 14th Amendment (which granted citizenship), the 15th Amendment was designed to give formerly enslaved people full participation in American democracy. Voting is one of the most important rights a citizen has, because it gives people a voice in choosing their leaders and shaping government policy.

However, it is important to know that even after the 15th Amendment was passed, many states created unfair barriers like literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses to stop African Americans from actually voting. It took almost another hundred years, until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, before these barriers were fully addressed. The story of the 15th Amendment reminds us that writing a law is only the first step, enforcing it is just as important.

Key Facts

• The 15th Amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870
• It specifically prohibited denying the vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude
• It applied only to men, women of all races did not gain the right to vote until the 19th Amendment in 1920
• Southern states used poll taxes and literacy tests to get around the amendment for decades
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was needed to fully enforce the 15th Amendment's promise

Common Mistakes

• Saying the 15th Amendment gave women the right to vote, that was the 19th Amendment
• Confusing the 15th Amendment with the 14th, the 14th is about citizenship and equal protection, the 15th is specifically about voting
• Thinking the 15th Amendment immediately gave all Black men full voting access, enforcement took many more decades

Study Tip

Remember "15 = vote." The 15th Amendment is all about the ballot box. If you can connect the number 15 with the word "vote," you will not mix it up with the 13th (freedom) or 14th (citizenship). Think of it as the final step: first free, then citizen, then voter.