Changes

African Americans exercised the [[franchise]] and held office in many Southern states through the 1880s, but in the early 1890s, steps were taken to ensure subsequent “white supremacy.” Literacy tests for the vote, “grandfather clauses” excluding from the franchise all whose ancestors had not voted in the 1860s, and other devices to disenfranchise African Americans were written into the constitutions of former Confederate states. Social and economic segregation were added to black America’s loss of political power. In 1896 the Supreme Court decision [[Plessy v. Ferguson]] legalized “separate but equal” facilities for the races. For more than 50 years, the overwhelming majority of African American citizens were reduced to second-class citizenship under the “Jim Crow” segregation system. During that time, African Americans sought to secure their rights and improve their position through organizations such as National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League and through the individual efforts of reformers like [[Booker T. Washington]], [[W.E.B. DuBois]], and [[A. Philip Randolph]].  

African Americans exercised the [[franchise]] and held office in many Southern states through the 1880s, but in the early 1890s, steps were taken to ensure subsequent “white supremacy.” Literacy tests for the vote, “grandfather clauses” excluding from the franchise all whose ancestors had not voted in the 1860s, and other devices to disenfranchise African Americans were written into the constitutions of former Confederate states. Social and economic segregation were added to black America’s loss of political power. In 1896 the Supreme Court decision [[Plessy v. Ferguson]] legalized “separate but equal” facilities for the races. For more than 50 years, the overwhelming majority of African American citizens were reduced to second-class citizenship under the “Jim Crow” segregation system. During that time, African Americans sought to secure their rights and improve their position through organizations such as National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League and through the individual efforts of reformers like [[Booker T. Washington]], [[W.E.B. DuBois]], and [[A. Philip Randolph]].  

The most direct attack on the problem of African American disfranchisement came in 1965. Prompted by reports of continuing discriminatory voting practices in many Southern states, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], himself a southerner, urged Congress on March 15, 1965, to pass legislation “which will make it impossible to thwart the Fifteenth Amendment.” He reminded Congress that “we cannot have government for all the people until we first make certain it is government of and by all the people.” The [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], extended in 1970, 1975, and 1982, abolished all remaining deterrents to exercising the franchise and authorized Federal supervision of voter registration where necessary.

The most direct attack on the problem of African American disfranchisement came in 1965. Prompted by reports of continuing discriminatory voting practices in many Southern states, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], himself a southerner, urged Congress on March 15, 1965, to pass legislation “which will make it impossible to thwart the Fifteenth Amendment.” He reminded Congress that “we cannot have government for all the people until we first make certain it is government of and by all the people.” The [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], extended in 1970, 1975, 1982, and 2006, abolished all remaining deterrents to exercising the franchise and authorized Federal supervision of voter registration where necessary.

The Fifteenth Amendment was the last of the [[Reconstruction]] amendments after the Civil War.  There would not be any new amendments until the 20th century.

The Fifteenth Amendment was the last of the [[Reconstruction]] amendments after the Civil War.  There would not be any new amendments until the 20th century.