15th Amendment

• It granted all American males the right to vote ; it stated ' right to vote should not be denied on account of race , colour '. It was revolutionary, given that only 8 of Northern states allowed black voting. Congress required secessionist states that had not yet re-entered the Union to ratify the amendment in order to re-join. Giving blacks the right to vote would weaken Southern elites.
• However the 14th Amendment did not guarantee the men's right to vote - it did not forbid states to introduce literacy, property and educational tests for would-be voters.