"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." — Fifteenth Amendment, ratified February 1870
The Fifteenth Amendment's most notable omission was protection against discrimination based on:
- A
Property ownership, allowing wealth-based suffrage limits
- B
Religion, excluding Catholic and Jewish citizens
- Ccheck_circle
Sex, leaving women without federal voting rights
- D
Military service, excluding Confederate veterans
Explanation
The amendment's silence on sex split the women's suffrage movement, with figures like Stanton and Anthony opposing it because it enfranchised Black men but not women of any race.