Enacted Text
Text as enacted or promulgated by the issuing body, reproduced from the official source.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment XV — National Archives transcript
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—
U.S. Constitution, Amendment XV — National Archives transcript
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Real Law Society Editorial Material
Prepared by the Real Law Society. Commentary and apparatus only; it carries no authority of its own.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. Congress proposed the amendment on February 26, 1869; the National Archives records ratification on February 3, 1870. The date of congressional proposal is distinct from the date of ratification.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. Section 1 prohibits the United States and any State from denying or abridging citizens' voting rights on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2 grants Congress power to enforce the article by appropriate legislation.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. Section 1 identifies the protected right, the governmental actors addressed, and the three stated grounds of prohibited denial or abridgment. Section 2 supplies an enforcement power. This record does not resolve other voting qualifications or the validity of a particular election rule.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. The scope of this record is the complete text of both sections and a text-based editorial overview. Judicial interpretation, subsequent case treatment, and fact-specific modern application are not surveyed here.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments are read as distinct Reconstruction Amendments. This record links the existing Fourteenth Amendment Section 1 record and its companion amendment without treating their provisions as interchangeable.
Editorial commentary — not part of the primary text.
Editorial note. Read both sections before developing a research question. Distinguish the amendment itself from legislation enacted under its enforcement power and from judicial interpretation; those additional authorities require their own source verification.
Revision history
- 1869-02-26 — Proposed by Congress; distinct from ratification.
- 1870-02-03 — Ratified by the requisite number of States, as dated by the National Archives.