Question 981800s

When did all men get the right to vote?

Answers USCIS accepts

  • After the Civil War
  • During Reconstruction
  • (With the) 15th Amendment
  • 1870

What does this answer mean?

All men got the right to vote after the Civil War. USCIS accepts four answers: after the Civil War, during Reconstruction, with the 15th Amendment, or 1870.

All four point to the same event. The 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, says the right of citizens to vote can't be denied because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, meaning having been enslaved. It came during Reconstruction, the period after the Civil War when the country rebuilt and three amendments, the 13th, 14th, and 15th, were added to the Constitution.

The amendment protected men only. Women across the country gained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920, which is the answer to a later question.

Other amendments expanded voting further: the 24th banned poll taxes in federal elections in 1964, and the 26th protected the right to vote at age 18 in 1971.

At the interview, an easy answer is "1870" or "after the Civil War."

Memory tip

15th Amendment, 1870: voting for men of every race.

Sources2

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