Final answer:
The passage highlights mixed views on African American citizenship and voting rights, acknowledging the significant step with the Fifteenth Amendment but also noting the limitations that allowed disenfranchisement to continue.
Step-by-step explanation:
The overall theme of the passage regarding African American citizenship and voting rights is D) Mixed views on African American citizenship, with both positive and negative aspects highlighted. The Fifteenth Amendment extended the right to vote to African American men, which was a significant positive step. However, the omission of specific language on literacy tests and poll taxes allowed states to implement these as methods for disenfranchisement. This was acknowledged by the Radical Republican leader Charles Sumner, who considered it sufficient grounds to oppose the amendment. Subsequent challenges, such as those faced by African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s, coupled with the origination of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, emphasize the this mixed legacy.
Despite the apparent progress, the practical execution of these constitutional amendments showed that merely outlawing discrimination based on race was not enough to ensure effective enfranchisement. The limitations of these amendments were shown over the next century as African Americans continued to face significant barriers to voting, educational inequality, and other forms of racial discrimination. The passage ultimately underscores the complexity of the African American struggle for full citizenship and voting rights, acknowledging both their achievements and the setbacks they endured.