The Fifteenth Amendment

1
Chapter 6

• Section 3

2
The Fifteenth Amendment

• It was ratified in 1870 and it extended the right
  to vote to African Americans.
• In theory it worked but in practice it was a
  failure. Most blacks werent allowed to vote.
• Used methods like violence, social pressures, and
  tests.
• Martin Luther King Jr. led the Civil Rights
  movement which helped.

3
Early Civil Rights Legislation

• Civil Rights Act of 1957.
• It set up the United States Civil Rights
  Commission.
• The Commission checked into claims of voter
  discrimination.
• Civil Rights Act of 1960.
• Created federal voting referees.

4
Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Outlawed discrimination in the workplace.
• Set up injunctions against voter discrimination.
• Events in Selma, Alabama, made the President call
  for even stronger legislation to ensure voting
  rights.

5
Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Made the 15th Amendment a working Amendment.
• Suspended the use of any literary tests or
  similar device.
• Preclearance was used to limit a State from
  creating new laws to limit voting.
• Amendments to the Act have extended the power of
  the Act.