On this day, February 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, granting African American men the right to vote.
The amendment declared that “the right of citizens of the United States 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.”
As the US National Archives notes, “Freed by the 13th Amendment [and] With citizenship guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, black men gained the vote by the 15th Amendment.”
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, FEBRUARY 2, 1913, GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL OPENS IN NEW YORK, THE LARGEST TRAIN STATION IN THE WORLD
Attorney Ron Coleman, Partner at Dhillon Law Group In New York, told Fox News Digital about the amendment's ratification: “By granting the vote to former slaves and prohibiting racial discrimination in elections, the 15th Amendment was an important step toward fulfilling America's destiny of being what Lincoln called 'Earth's last best hope.'”
Coleman added: “Despite everything, that's still what America is.”
The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, on February 3, 1870, was ratified, in “an important step toward fulfilling America's destiny to be what Lincoln called 'Earth's last and best hope.'” (iStock)
The Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed that no one could be denied the right to vote in the United States based on race.
However, as the Library of Congress notes on ratification, “the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for nearly a century.”
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, FEBRUARY 1, 1790, THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES MEETS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NEW YORK
He adds: “Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests, and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans.”
Voters cast their ballots in a school gym in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
He further says that “it would take passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before most African Americans in the South would be registered to vote.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered one of the most important laws in the country's history.
“Prompted by reports of continuing discriminatory voting practices in many Southern states,” the National Archives says, “President Lyndon B. Johnson, himself a Southerner, urged Congress on March 15, 1965, to pass legislation [that] 'will make it impossible to thwart the 15th Amendment.'”
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
He also reminded Congress that “we cannot have a government for all the people until we first make sure that it is a government of and by all the people.”
For more lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
