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The Reconstruction Era
Reconstruction was an era in American History where the US government was trying to integrate newly-freed slaves into everyday life. They also had to deal with the problem of getting the southern states back in order, as they tried to secede, causing the Civil war in the first place. -
Formation of the KKK
The formation of the KKK heavily affected the lives of African Americans. They would threaten and intimidate African Americans into not voting by saying they'd kill them and their families if they did. -
15th amendment proposal
The 15th amendment was passed by Congress on February 26, 1869. in the House of Representatives, 144 republicans approved it, while 0 democrats voted in favor. In the Senate, zero democrats again voted in favor, with 33 republicans voting for it. This led it to be passed to the state legislators for ratification. -
Opposition of the 15th amendment
While the 15th amendment granted voting rights to African American men, it did nothing about women. This upset women's right activists, as women still wanted the right to vote. Suffrage to women was not granted until 1920 with the passing of the 19th amendment. This was a major upset among many people, even abolitionists, as a lot of people wanted equal suffrage among races and sexes. -
State legislators ratify the 15th amendment
the 15th amendment was eventually ratified by every state besides Tennessee and Maryland, after some troubles. At the beginning, only 17 states voted in favor, with 4 voting not in favor. It took a while to convince every state to ratify it, but we eventually got there. -
enforcement of the 15th amendment (1870-1965)
The 15th amendment, while it was ratified, was not enforced in every state. each state had there own way of getting around the 15th amendment, and the government wouldn't do anything about it -
Methods of discrimination in voting (1870-1965)
States used to do anything in their power to limit the rights of African Americans, including with voting. For example, poll taxes became very popular in reconstruction, as the states knew that African Americans had trouble finding jobs as ex-slaves, as nobody would take them in. Literacy tests were also enforced in southern states. As, these states also knew that ex-slaves did not receive education, and therefore usually couldn't read or write. -
Poll taxes are outlawed (24th amendment)
the 24th amendment fully outlawed poll taxes anywhere, deeming that forcing people to pay to vote discriminated against people who were in poverty. -
enforcement of the 15th amendment after the VRA and CRA
Enforcing the 15th amendment after the Civil Rights Act was put into effect was much easier than before. Specifically, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the most helpful, as it became illegal to discriminate based on race. -
The VRA
The Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, and banned discrimination based on race for voting. this was a landmark act for the 15th amendment, as it finally let the federal government to involve itself in racial discrimination. The Civil right Act also helped by prohibiting discrimination based on race, religion, or sex.