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The first of the reconstruction act amendments is passed.
The republicans ruled the congress at the end of the civil war. Which helped make the reconstruction act move a lot faster. The republicans wanted to create equality for all citizens, and with enslaved blacks now being freed there were going to make sure this happened. With the blacks becoming more involved with politics they played a big role in helping get the southern states readmitted into the union and quickly worked on more equality for themselves.
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black men begin to vote
Black Men all across the southern states were voting in the 1868 presidential election, they were also enfranchised in Iowa and minnesota that Autumn. Although being allowed to vote in some states, blacks were disenfanchised in 11 of the 21 northern and western states and the 5 border states. This took a large number of black voters out of the picture.
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Presidential election of 1868
President Grant may have won the election but it was by a very close margin. The black voters of the south, all of which voted for Grant, were the ones who won the election. With Horacio Seymour taking the state of New York, the election was very close, and if the blacks had had the right to vote in Seymours home state he would not have overpowered Grant. The reason the blacks voted for Grant was because the republican party wanted to strengthen its power in both the north and south.
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Northern Blacks push for an amendment to reach equal suffrage
In january of 1869 a group of 12 men that belonged to the National Convention of the Colored Men of america met with president elect Ulysses S. grant. They met with him to aim to get suffrage for all black men in the U.S. and the education of former slaves. They urged the president-elect in the fulfillment and administration of equal rights.
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A resolution is created and makes it through the house.
On January 30th, 1869 House member George Boutwell submitted a resolution that made it through the house with a vote of 150-42. His resolution stated that they would amend the constitution to forbid the federal and state governments from denying the vote to citizens based on "race, or color, or previous conditions of slavery". This resolution was passed because everyone believe it was protect equal suffrage through an amendment and not federal law.
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15th amendment is ratified.
This was passed by congress in 1869, with the republicans in control of the southern states it was bound to be ratified by 3/4 of all states quickly. In 1870 the amendment was ratified, with a majority of the votes being southern states. Although the amendment was passed the african americans in the south had a hard time voting. Opposition of the amendment in southern states grew quickly and took many forms of "bullying", such as voter intimidation, grandfather clauses and poll taxes
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Black Men begin to vote
Thomas Mundy Peterson, a school principle in Perth Amboy, New Jersey was the first colored man to vote in the united states. Peterson voted in an election held for the towns Charter. This was a very eventful time because it represented the first colored man taking advantage of his suffrage rights. To honor this the citizens of Perth Amboy raised over 70$ dollars and a gold medallion to give to Peterson.
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Civil Rights act of 1957
The 15th amendment had an impact on this act because it is the reason that congress had to enforce the Civil Rights act. Blacks had still been being discriminated even after this amendment was passed and the congress and lawmakers were doing nothing to stop it. The violent acts of discrimination had ended by the 1950s but state laws in southern states greatly affected the rights of black voters.
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Voting Rights act of 1965
President Lyndon Johnson passed a law that helped further create equality for the black voters. This act was passed to overcome the legal barriers keeping blacks from voting. The act banned the use of literacy tests and poll taxes. This act greatly affected the numbers of black voters that actually voted in the south, by getting rid of what was holding them back from voting.
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Last state ratifies the 15th amendment
The last state to ratify the amendment was Kentucky in March of 1976. A few other state ratified the amendment just years before that such as, California in 1962, and Maryland in 1973.
