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15th Amendment Facts & Worksheets

The 15th Amendment is included in the three amendments made in the Reconstruction Amendments of the U.S. Constitution ratified after the Civil War.

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The 15th Amendment is included in the three amendments made in the Reconstruction Amendments of the U.S. Constitution ratified after the Civil War. This amendment aims to protect the voting rights of all citizens regardless of race and color. It also protected the voting rights of the freed slaves, as permitted by the 13th amendment. The said amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870.

See the fact file below for more information on the 15th Amendment or alternatively, you can download our 23-page 15th Amendment worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BACKGROUND

  • This amendment was the third of the three Reconstruction Amendments including the 13th and 14th amendments.
  • When the Civil War ended, amendments were done in order to free the slaves in the United States.
  • The 13th Amendment ended slavery and the 14th Amendment gave the freed slaves equal rights as U.S. Citizens.
  • The 15th Amendment protects the voting rights of all citizens regardless of race and color.
  • The amendment was ratified after the Civil War.
  • The amendment paved the way in granting African-American people the right to vote.
  • It was adopted into the U.S. Constitution in 1870.
  • Three drafts of the 15th Amendment were made.
  • The first draft gave all male citizens aged 21 and above the right to vote.
  • The second draft prevented states from holding back the voting rights based on a person’s literacy capacity, the person’s owned property, and their birth place.
  • The final draft was what the Congress approved.
  • The amendment was very important because it finally gave African-Americans the chance and right to vote and to be elected into public office.
  • Once the African-Americans were seated, they proposed laws for children to be provided with schools and for people of different races to be married.
  • The winning presidency of Ulysses S. Grant back in 1868 was made possible by the free black voters in the South.
  • When the U.S. Army departed the South, white people of the South defended themselves and passed laws that prevented African-Americans from voting.
  • Discriminatory practices were observed to prevent African-Americans to practice their rights.
  • These practices were abolished when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were implemented.
  • Legal barriers were banned at local and state levels if blacks were denied of their right to vote by the 15th Amendment.
  • The first state to ratify it was Nevada.
  • The state of Tennessee did not ratify the amendment until the year 1997.

SECTION 1

  • “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

SECTION 2

  • The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

EFFECTS

  • African-Americans in the U.S. were not immediately able to vote.
  • The 15th Amendment did not have much of a change for almost a century on African-Americans voting in the South.
  • People in the South used different methods to prevent African-Americans from voting.
  • Poll taxes were observed to keep African-Americans from voting.
  • Poll taxes were fees a person was required to pay.
  • White people were exempted from this type of tax because of the “grandfather clause” which explains that if their grandfather voted in the last election, they didn’t have to pay the fee.
  • Literacy tests were also done to prevent African-American people from voting.
  • These tests had to be passed by people in order for them to vote.
  • The grandfather clause was also a basis of this test.
  • Another way to keep the blacks from voting was the White Primary System.
  • The Democrats in several states made up their own rules that would not allow blacks to vote.
  • Intimidation was also used to keep them from voting and this resulted in violence.
  • All these practices were called disenfranchisement.
  • Even if the 15th Amendment was implemented, many African-American people were disenfranchised until new laws were proposed and passed in 1965.
  • In order to settle this problem, the Congress approved the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
  • It stated that all Americans, regardless of color and race, had the right to vote.
  • However, overcoming these problems on a case-to-case basis was unsuccessful.
  • The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was proposed to remove further barriers in voting.

VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

  • This act was amended by the Congress five times in order to extend its protections.
  • This was approved in order to make sure that no citizen was refused the right to vote.
  • This was considered to be the act to implement the 15th amendment to the Constitution.
  • It banned the literacy tests and other disenfranchisement acts.
  • The act directed the Attorney General to eradicate the use of poll taxes in state and local elections.

15th Amendment Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about 15th Amendment across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use 15th Amendment worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the 15th Amendment which is included in the three amendments made in the Reconstruction Amendments of the U.S. Constitution ratified after the Civil War. This amendment aims to protect the voting rights of all citizens regardless of race and color. It also protected the voting rights of the freed slaves, as permitted by the 13th amendment. The said amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • US Civil War: 15th Amendment Facts
  • The Need For The 15th
  • Decode It!
  • Drafted and Ratified
  • Important People
  • Effects Of The 15th
  • Voting Rights Act
  • Comic Analysis
  • Narrow Interpretations
  • Equal Rights
  • Reconstruction Amendments

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Link will appear as 15th Amendment Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, April 8, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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