    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 113th Congress]
    [113rd Congress]
    [House Document 112-161]
    [The United States Constitution]
    [Page 104]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 104]]

                           AMENDMENT XV.\6\

    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.
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      \6\ 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 29 of the 37 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    January 5, 1870 but rescinded this action on March 30, 1970); Indiana,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); Maryland, May 7, 1973 (after having rejected it on February 4 and
    February 26, 1870); Kentucky, March 30, 1976 (after having rejected it
    on March 11 and March 12, 1869); Tennessee, April 2, 1997, (after having
    rejected it on November 16, 1869).
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      Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
    appropriate legislation.