Fifteenth Amendment

noun

1. an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, prohibiting the restriction of voting rights “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Example Sentences

Leaning on past precedent, Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion holds that Congress can prohibit voting policies and practices that result in discriminatory effects as “‘an appropriate method of promoting the purposes of the Fifteenth Amendment.’”

From Slate

These voting rights were solidified in 1870, with the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which said no man could be turned away from the polls because of his "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

From Salon

They helped to guarantee the voting rights granted to Black males by the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870.

From Literature

The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, approved in 1870 after the Civil War, states that the right of U.S. citizens 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.”

From Literature

In an opinion for the circuit court in New Orleans Republican, which was not even a voting rights case, Justice Bradley wrote: “The Fifteenth Amendment confers no right to vote. That is the exclusive prerogative of the states. It does confer a right not to be excluded from voting by reason of race, color or previous condition of servitude, and this is all the right that Congress can enforce.”

From Slate