The 15th Amendment Is Adopted: A Promise and a Struggle for the Right to Vote

15th Amendment, declaring that voting rights could not be denied on the basis of race.

What Happened?

The promise of the 15th Amendment was simple: no American citizen should be denied the right to vote because of the color of their skin. Passed by Congress in 1869 and formally adopted on March 30, 1870, it was a major win for the Reconstruction-era movement to extend civil rights to formerly enslaved Black Americans.

Just one day after its ratification, Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, became the first African American to vote under the new amendment. Across the South, Black voters and leaders rose quickly—helping elect representatives, build public education systems, and reshape democracy. By 1877, over 600 African Americans had served in state legislatures, and 16 in Congress, including Hiram Rhodes Revels of Mississippi—the first Black U.S. senator.

But this era of Black political power was short-lived. As Reconstruction ended and federal troops withdrew, white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan used violence and terror to prevent Black people from voting. States passed new laws—poll taxes, literacy tests, and property requirements—that didn’t mention race but targeted Black voters all the same.

Despite these setbacks, the 15th Amendment endured. It became the legal foundation for future civil rights victories, from the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to ongoing fights for voter access today. It’s a reminder that freedom is not just declared—it must be defended, generation after generation.

Why It Matters

The 15th Amendment was more than a legal document—it was a declaration that Black voices mattered in the shaping of American democracy. Though often denied in practice, its promise laid the groundwork for the civil rights movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. We honor not just its passage, but the struggle it ignited.

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Dig Deeper

Reconstruction, after the divisive, destructive Civil War, Abraham Lincoln had a plan to reconcile the country and make it whole again. Then he was shot, Andrew Johnson took over, and the disagreements between Johnson and Congress ensured that Reconstruction would fail. The election of 1876 made the whole thing even more of a mess, and the country called it off, leaving the nation still very divided.

In the late 19th century, southern states codified racial segregation and voter suppression through Jim Crow laws.

Jim Crow and Plessy v. Ferguson

After Reconstruction, the South built a legal system to enforce racial segregation and strip African Americans of political power. The Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 made 'separate but equal' the law of the land—cementing injustice for decades.

After the Revolutionary War, the United States faced the daunting task of building a functioning government.

Building a New Nation: Foundations of State and National Government

From the shaky Articles of Confederation to the Constitution and Bill of Rights, discover how America’s founders navigated the turbulent waters of self-government—and why North Carolina took its time joining the party.

The encomienda system led to widespread abuse, forced labor, and cultural destruction.

The Encomienda System: Empire, Labor, and the Roots of Colonial Slavery

The encomienda system promised 'protection' and Christianization. What it delivered was forced labor, cultural erasure, and the blueprint for slavery in the Americas.