15th Amendment Ratified (1870): Granted Black Male the Right to Vote

#OnThisDay in 1870, the 15th Amendment, which granted black men the right to vote, was ratified. Unfortunately, Southern states continued to disenfranchise black voters through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests, threats of physical harm, etc. Therefore, the promise of the 15th Amendment was not fully realized until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965–almost a century later.

The amendment was passed (proposed) by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870.

Learn more:

— National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27

— LOC: http://www.loc.gov/rr//program/bib/ourdocs/15thamendment.html

— Teaching resources: https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/elections/voting-rights-african-americans.html