The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

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  • Passed in 1870
  • Outlawed slavery and extended civil and voting rights to U.S. citizens, including African Americans or former slaves; however, women were not allowed to vote until 1920 under the Nineteenth Amendmen
  • It also outlawed denying suffrage to anyone on the basis of color, race, or because of being a former slave
  • Prohibits federal or state governments from infringing on a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
  • This amendment allowed the federal government to legislate qualifications for voting while taking away this right from the states