The 15th Amendment Essay Example

The 15th Amendment was beneficial to African Americans by granting them the right to vote. In addition, to giving black suffrage, it also reinforced the Union. While giving valuable advantages to African Americans, it wasn't as successful as it was planned to be. Such as, states easily found their way around these new voting rights. The 15th Amendment also took a lot longer than planned to be passed and in motion. The 15th Amendment wasn't as effective as Congress had wished it would be due to the amount of time it took and states not following it.

The 15th Amendment was slow to get passed and needed assistance from other amendments and acts, therefore, it wasn't effective.  It took a long time for it to be passed due to the number of drafts it took and states disobeying it. The 15th Amendment took 3 rough drafts until it was finally ratified, “One gave all male citizens age 21 or older the right to vote. One prevented states from holding back voting rights from anyone because of how well they could read, what kind of property they did or did not own, and where they were born. The third draft was what Congress approved” (White). This quote proves that not only was it a long process to begin with, but in the 15th Amendment’s case, it went through the process three times. While also taking a long time to be passed, states found their way around this amendment. This amendment was a "six-week battle in Congress [and] had been just the beginning. Now there would be a battle in each of the existing twenty-six states” (Banfield 58-59). Even though there were 3 drafts to try and perfect the amendment, states still found a way to dodge it. When Congress finally passed the 15th Amendment on the third draft they, “did not specifically address voting rights and did not enfranchise everyone” ("Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution"). Not only did Congress not make the amendment specific enough, but states also created new ways to keep African American people from voting. States used methods including, “instituting a poll tax (requiring a voter to pay a fee in order to cast his vote) and literacy tests, which had to be passed as a prerequisite for voting” ("Fifteenth Amendment"). The 15th Amendment was slow to be passed, and when it was, it wasn't effective. 

The 15th Amendment had some benefits for African Americans in America. It gave African Americans the right to vote which made them feel more like an American citizen. Hay stated, "It means that the colored people are now and will be held to be, by the whole nation, responsible for their own existence and their weak or ill-being. It means that we are placed upon an equal footing with all other men, and that the glory or shame of our future is to be wholly our own" (62-63). This states that the amendment made African Americans and whites mostly equal. There were still some issues, but this was certainly a step in the right direction. In addition to giving African Americans voting rights, it also strengthened the union and punished states who didn't follow this amendment. Hay states, “And upon the assumption that this claim was justified and that the election officers had violated the 15th Amendment in denying the right to vote, this prosecution, as we have said, was commenced” (77).  Not only did it grant black suffrage, but it also strengthened the union. The 15th Amendment further expresses, "The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation” ("Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution"). This shows that it gave more power to the union and government. The 15th Amendment granted African Americans the right to vote, making them become more powerful American citizens. While doing this it also helped build up the union. 

When comping the pros and cons of the 15th amendment, it is about even. The pros were that it gave African Americans the right to vote and strengthen the union, and the cons were that it took a long time, and states easily found their way around it. The 15th Amendment states, "that an American citizen cannot be discriminated against in exercising the right to vote” ("Fifteenth Amendment"). It only meant good and no harm, yet it may have caused more harm than good. Congress did not think that states would disobey it. While it did do good things for the black American citizens, it wasn't as effective as it could be. The pros outweigh the cons. The 15th Amendment took over six weeks to be passed, and states including a lot of southern and border states found a way around it easily. The states created poll taxes and literacy tests to vote. Throughout this period, most African Americans weren't educated and didn’t have the money to pay the poll taxes. Voting rules kept going in circles because states would find new ways to stop African Americans from voting. Even though it strengthened the union and granted black suffrage, it wasn't as effective as it could've been. The cons of the 15th Amendment outweighed the pros. 

Finally, the 15th Amendment was made to grant black suffrage to American communities. The 15th Amendment was beneficial to the African Americans in some ways, but the white citizens made sure to make it as little beneficial as possible. When this amendment was passed, it gave African Americans the right to vote, and while doing that it also strengthened the Union. Even though it did some great things, it was not as effective as it could have been. It took over 6 weeks to get passed, and when it was, states easily found their way around these voting rights by adding literacy tests and poll taxes. For this reason, the 15th Amendment was not beneficial enough to the citizens it was trying to help. In conclusion, the 15th Amendment was not as effective as it should have been due to the time it took to be in place and because states found their way to sneak past it. 

Banfield, Susan. The Fifteenth Amendment: African-American Men's Right to Vote. Springfield, Enslow P, 1998.

"Fifteenth Amendment." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, edited by Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk, Gale, 1999. Gale in Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ1667500236/UHIC?u=crnorth&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=636fcc66. Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.

"Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution." American Eras: Primary Sources, edited by Rebecca Parks, vol. 2, Gale, 2013, pp. 292-95. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2737100099/GVRL?u=crnorth&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=0ed11c2d. Accessed 6 Apr. 2022.

Hay, Jeff. Amendment XV: Race and the Right to Vote. Detroit, Greenhaven P, 2009.

White, David. "The 15th Amendment." SIRS Discoverer, 2 Apr. 2014, explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2250248899?accountid=37399.