Words of Freedom

The Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

The Fifteenth Amendment was the last of the three Reconstruction amendments to the U.S. Constitution. It ostensibly guaranteed citizens the right to vote, and forbade discrimination in voting rights based on race. But after the end of Reconstruction in 1876, effective enabling legislation, envisioned by the Amendment's second section, was not passed until the Voting Rights Act of 1965-96 years after Congress proposed the Amendment, and 95 years after it was ratified.

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.

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