    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 104th Congress]
    [104th Congress]
    [House Document 103-342]
    [The United States Constitution]
    [Page 96]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 96]]

                               AMENDMENT XV.a

    Sec. 234. Suffrage not to be abridged for race,
    color, etc.

      Section 1.  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.

      a The 15th amendment to the Constitution of the United States was
    proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the 40th Congress
    on February 26, 1869, and was declared, in a proclamation of the
    Secretary of State, dated March 30, 1870, to have been ratified by the
    legislatures of twenty-nine of the thirty-seven States. The dates of
    these ratifications were: Nevada, March 1, 1869; West Virginia, March 3,
    1869; North Carolina, March 5, 1869; Illinois, March 5, 1869; Louisiana,
    March 5, 1869; Michigan, March 8, 1869; Wisconsin, March 9, 1869; Maine,
    March 11, 1869; Massachusetts, March 12, 1869; Arkansas, March 15, 1869;
    South Carolina, March 15, 1869; Pennsylvania, March 25, 1869; New York,
    April 14, 1869 (subsequently ``withdrew'' its consent to the
    ratification on January 5, 1870 but rescinded this action on March 30,
    1970); Indiana, May 14, 1869; Connecticut, May 19, 1869; Florida, June
    14, 1869; New Hampshire, July 1, 1869; Virginia, October 8, 1869;
    Vermont, October 20, 1869; Alabama, November 16, 1869; Missouri, January
    7, 1870 (Missouri had ratified the first section of the 15th amendment
    on March 1, 1869, but had failed to include in its ratification the
    second section of the amendment); Minnesota, January 13, 1870;
    Mississippi, January 17, 1870; Rhode Island, January 18, 1870; Kansas,
    January 19, 1870; Ohio, January 27, 1870 (after having rejected the
    amendment April 30, 1869); Georgia, February 2, 1870; Iowa, February 3,
    1870. Ratification was completed on February 3, 1870, unless the
    withdrawal of ratification by New York was effective; in which event
    ratification was completed on February 17, 1870, when ratified by
    Nebraska. The amendment was subsequently ratified by Texas, February 18,
    1870; New Jersey, February 15, 1871 (after having rejected it on
    February 7, 1870); Delaware, February 12, 1901 (after having rejected it
    on March 18, 1869); Oregon, February 24, 1959; California, April 3, 1962
    (after having rejected it on January 28, 1870); Kentucky, March 30, 1976
    (after having rejected it on March 11, 12, 1869). The 15th amendment was
    rejected by Tennessee, November 16, 1869 (House); and Maryland, February
    4, 26, 1870.
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      Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
    appropriate legislation.