The Fifteenth Amendment

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The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's race, color, or any previous condition of servitude. This amendment specifically addressed the issue of voting rights for African Americans, who had been systematically excluded from voting in many states despite the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment (which granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and guaranteed equal protection of the laws). The Fifteenth Amendment aimed to ensure that African Americans could exercise their right to vote without fear of discrimination or suppression.