Amendments 15-19
Voting Rights and Progressive Era Amendments
Constitutional Text
Amendment XV (1870). Section 1. 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.
Amendment XVI (1913). The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
Amendment XVII (1913). The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years...
Amendment XVIII (1919). Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States... is hereby prohibited.
Amendment XIX (1920). 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 sex.
Amendments Summary
15th Amendment (1870)
Voting rights for Black men - Cannot deny voting based on race. Third Reconstruction Amendment. (Later undermined by Jim Crow laws until Voting Rights Act of 1965.)
16th Amendment (1913)
Federal income tax - Allowed Congress to tax income directly without apportioning among states.
17th Amendment (1913)
Direct election of Senators - Previously chosen by state legislatures. Progressive Era reform.
18th Amendment (1919)
Prohibition - Banned manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. Later repealed by 21st Amendment.
19th Amendment (1920)
Women's suffrage - Cannot deny voting based on sex. Result of decades of activism (Seneca Falls 1848, Susan B. Anthony, etc.).
Progressive Era Context
Four amendments (16th-19th) were ratified between 1913-1920, reflecting Progressive Era reforms. These amendments expanded democracy through direct election of senators and women's suffrage, gave Congress new taxing power, and attempted social reform through prohibition.
Key Takeaways
- 15th & 19th Amendments expanded voting rights
- 16th Amendment enabled federal income tax
- 17th Amendment made Senate elections more democratic
- 18th Amendment (Prohibition) was later repealed
AP Exam Connection
Unit 5 — Political Participation (15–22% of AP exam)
These amendments expanded democracy in two directions: extending suffrage (15th, 19th) and making elections more direct (17th — direct election of senators). The 15th Amendment's formal guarantee was evaded for 95 years until the Voting Rights Act (1965) — a key contrast between formal and substantive political equality.
Memory Tricks
"15 = Race, 17 = Direct, 19 = Women." 15th (1870) banned denying the vote based on race. 17th (1913) required direct popular election of senators. 19th (1920) extended suffrage to women. Combined with 24th (poll tax) and 26th (age 18), these form the voting rights framework tested on AP exams.
"17th Amendment = Progressive Era fix for the Senate's democratic deficit." Originally senators were chosen by state legislatures — often corrupted by machine politics. The 17th Amendment switched to direct popular election, part of the Progressive push for more democracy. It also weakened the direct connection between senators and their state governments.
AP-Style Writing Practice
Amendments 15-19 expanded political participation and democratic governance during the Reconstruction and Progressive eras.
- Identify one amendment from this group that expanded voting rights and explain what group it extended suffrage to and what barriers it removed.
- Explain why the 15th Amendment's voting rights guarantee did not translate into actual voting access in the South for nearly 95 years.
- Evaluate whether the 17th Amendment's shift to direct election of senators strengthened or weakened constitutional federalism.
Tip: Part A: 15th = cannot deny based on race/color/previous servitude; 19th = cannot deny based on sex. Part B: The gap between formal rights and actual access was filled by literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and violence that the Supreme Court's narrow interpretation permitted. The VRA (1965) created enforcement mechanisms that actually worked. Part C: Strengthened democracy vs. weakened federalism (states lost influence over federal policy through senator selection).