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Slaves being Freed
In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation came out. It was wrote by Abraham Lincoln and it had freed all the slaves. -
Citizenship to the Freed Slaves
The Civil Rights Act gave slaves citizenship and later on voting rights. -
Proposal for the 15th Amendment
January of 1869 black Americans held a convention that was later on called the National Convention of Colored Men. These convention members pushed for two things, the suffrage or voting for black Americans. The other was for education of people who were once slaves. -
Approved by Congress
February 25th and 26th, both parts of Congress had approved the amendment proposal. It was sent off to the states by William Henry Seward who was the Secretary of State. -
First States to Ratify
March of 1869, Nevada was the first state to ratify the amendment. They ratified this after their Senator, William Stewart, said it would not prohibit the Chinese and Irish from voting too. -
Ratifications
On March 3rd it was approved by West Virginia, and then on March 5th it was ratified by three states, Illinois, North Carolina, and Louisiana. It was then approved by Michigan, soon to be ratified by Wisconsin on March 9th. Last state was Pennslyvania on March 25th -
Reconstruction Bill
A bill that was passed by Congress that said the 15th amendment must be ratified by three certain states -
Approval from New York
New York ratifys it but later on the next year they revoke it. -
Two More Approve
Indiana and Connecticut both approve the amendment -
More States that Approve
Both Virginia and Vermont approve the amendment in October. -
Finally Official
The 15th amendment was officially ratified. It says that the Federal and State Governments can't deny a male citizen to voted based on their race. -
Telling America
President Grant tells America during a press conference that the amendment is now an official part of the Constitution -
The Effects
There seemed to be very little effect for years after the amendment was ratified. Particularly in the South. The grandfather clause and poll tax had kept many blacks from voting -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was signed in by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It was aimed to overpower all legal barriers by state and local lvels that denied African Americans the right to vote
