The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government or any state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous cond
The Fifteenth Amendment in the National Archives
"The First Vote" by Alfred R. Waud (Harper's Weekly, 1867) depicting African Americans casting ballots
An 1869 Thomas Nast cartoon supporting the Fifteenth Amendment. In the cartoon, Americans of different ancestries and ethnic backgrounds sit together at a dinner table with Columbia to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal as equal members of the American citizenry, while Uncle Sam carves a turkey.
1870 print celebrating the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in February 1870, and the post Civil War political empowerment of African Americans
Ulysses S. Grant
Videos
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877, and was the Commanding General of the Union Army, leading it to victory in the American Civil War in 1865.
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
…black freedmen. By 1869, amendments had been passed to abolish slavery and provide citizenship and equal protection under the laws, but the election of Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency in 1868 convinced a majority of Republicans that protecting the franchise of black male voters was important for the party's future…
Grant, c. 1870–1880
Grant's birthplace in Point Pleasant, Ohio
Grant as a young officer, c. 1845–1847
The Battle of Monterrey during which Grant saw military action