There are many facts and figures associated with the 15th amendment of the Unites States constitution. Some of the 15th amendment facts are mentioned below-
· The 15th amendment was divided into two sections –
o Section 1- It states that all citizens of the United States have equal rights to vote and their right of vote shall not be denied by any means by Federal, State and Local governments based on their color, race or past and present condition of services. For example a black man who was a slave in the past was also given right to vote.
o Section 2- Congress has the power to enforce this amendment, also to make appropriate changes when required to the appropriate legislation.
The 15th amendment facts tell the part of the reconstruction amendment. There were three Amendments passed under Reconstruction Amendments 13th, 14th, and 15th. 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States, while 14th granted the free slaves (which were mostly black men) right of citizenship and protections equal to other citizens in the country. And the 15th amendment, which is also considered as the most important amendment for black men provided them with the right of voting
The 15th Amendment in the constitution was passed on 26th February, 1869. It was expected that the reconstruction of the states will not be easy and then the democrats will regain the power in the local and state level authorities in the southern states. For safeguarding the right of black men and provide them equal right of livelihood, amendment 15 was passed. It was feared that black men will lose their rights what have been gained after long hardship after civil wars. But it took long time to be adopted and adhered. But in the southern states the right of votes was practiced and authority was formed, which constituted of the black men.
After 128 years this amendment was updated and efforts were made to reestablish the supremacy of the whites. In 1980s, African Americans exercised their rights of voting and held many offices and franchises in the Southern states of America. In 1890s it was found that the southern states elected blacks in all the positions and necessity was felt for the restoration of supremacy of the whites. So Grandfather Clause came in picture, which meant to control those African Americans to hold franchises whose ancestors have not voted in late 1860s. There were also other clauses mentioned in the constitution to control the Americans. With this for protecting the loss of the black America’s loss of political power, social and economic segregation were added. In 1896 after all this the supreme court of one of the southern states decided that there must be equal but separate laws and rights for both the races black and white present in America. For almost 50 years African Americans were not treated equally to the white race. During this time lots of measures were taken by blacks to restore their equal rights like forming associations, participating in elections, practicing their rights etc. It took long before they were accepted in by other Native Americans.