Final answer:
The 15th Amendment was designed to ensure that African American men of legal age had the right to vote, prohibiting the denial of this right based on race, color, or previous servitude. Despite its ratification in 1870, it did not prevent states from enforcing other voting restrictions, and further legislation like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was necessary to address these issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 15th Amendment and Voting Rights
The 15th Amendment was meant to ensure that all African American men of legal age could vote. Ratified in 1870, it states, "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." This amendment was a critical step in the struggle for voting rights during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. While it protected the rights of African American men to vote, it did not prohibit other discriminatory practices that states used to prevent them from voting, such as literacy tests and poll taxes. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that these practices were addressed on a national scale.
Despite its intentions, the 15th Amendment had limitations. States could still impose qualifications that seemed race-neutral but effectively disenfranchised many African American voters. Even after the amendment's ratification, African Americans continued to face significant barriers to voting, especially in the Southern United States.