15th Amendment
This page analyzes a single policy using structured scoring, historical evidence, source quality, and measurable outcomes.
Summary
Prohibited denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
How to Read This Record
Impact Reading
Very high documented impact
Evidence Base
Strong evidence from Government, Archive sources.
Data Completeness
Complete record with 5 sources and 1 metric.
Outcome Summary
Established federal constitutional protection for Black male voting rights, though later undermined in practice.
Categories
Impact Scores
This score is a structured measure of how directly and materially this policy affected Black communities, weighted by evidence, durability, and equity. Harm offset reduces the total score.
Total Impact Score
35
Directness
5
How explicitly the policy targeted or affected Black communities.
Material Impact
4
The practical real-world effect on conditions, rights, or outcomes.
Evidence
5
Strength of sourcing and historical support for the assessment.
Durability
4
How lasting the effects of the policy were over time.
Equity
5
Whether the policy advanced fairness, inclusion, or equal access.
Harm Offset
2
Any offsetting harms, limitations, exclusions, or contradictory effects that reduce the total.
Scoring Notes: Critical voting protection, but heavily undermined during Jim Crow.
Metrics
Explicit constitutional protection against race-based voting denial
Black male citizens • United States
Before
0.00
1869 • binary
After
1.00
1870 • binary
Methodology: Represents the addition of an explicit constitutional voting-rights protection based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Suggested Relationships
These policies may be related based on shared categories, era, and proximity in time.
1870 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 0
1870 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 0
1871 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 1
1871 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 1
1868 • Amendment • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 2
1867 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 3
1867 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 3
1865 • Amendment • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 5
Sources
15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
National Archives • Government
Primary source
View source15th Amendment
Congress Constitution Annotated • Government
Official constitutional resource
View sourceIntroduction To Federal Voting Rights Laws
U.S. Department of Justice • Government
Published: Aug 16, 2018
DOJ overview explaining that the 15th Amendment prohibited denial or abridgment of the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
View sourceLaws and Court Cases: Black Americans and the Vote
National Archives • Archive
Published: Mar 13, 2024
National Archives reference page placing the 15th Amendment within the longer history of Black voting rights and later legal protections.
View source