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Passed by Congress
On February 26th, 1869, the 15th Amendment was passed by congress with 144 members voting for it, 43 members voting against it, and 35 members not voting at all. -
First states to Ratify
On March 1st of 1869 Nevada was the first state to ratify this amendment. They ratified this after their Senator, William Stewart said it would not prohibit the Chinese and Irish from voting too. This frightened states like California and Oregon who did not approve this. -
Ratified
On February 3rd, 1870, almost a year later, the 15th Amendment was ratified, and granted African American men the right to vote. The Amendment prevented federal and state governments from using race of former servitude as an excuse to keep their citizens from voting. -
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 -
Period: to
Disfranchisement
Delegates of the State Constitutional Convention openly debated the best way to disfranchise African Americans while not technically violating the 15th Amendment. They largely succeeded and African American voting rights were not fully restored until the 1960s. -
Voting Rights Act
It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that legal barriers were outlawed at the state and local levels if they denied any Americans their right to vote. -
Amendment Proposal
