Constitution Day Resources Part 4

Today's Topic: The 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments



After the Civil War, the 15th Amendment gave the right to vote to all male US Citizens.

However, some communities refused to allow certain minorities to vote.

Women could not vote until the 19th Amendment (1920).

The Chinese Exclusion Act which took away the right to vote from US native-born citizens of Asian ancestry was repealed in 1943.
Jim Crow laws in the Southern United States which strongly discouraged African-Americans to vote was repealed by the 24th Amendment, 1964 & the Voting Rights Act 1965.



The Nineteenth Amendment gave suffrage (the right to vote) to women.

VOANews: Susan B. Anthony, 1820-1906: She Led the Fight to Gain Equal Rights for Women, Including the Right to Vote
The nineteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution won final approval in 1920 but she did not live to see it. Transcript of radio broadcast: 14 June 2008


24th Amendment made it illegal to make a citizen pay a voting fee. It is illegal to make a citizen take a reading test to vote. The 24th Amendment (1964) and the Civil Rights Movement led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. crushed Jim Crow laws which discriminated against African Americans.

VOANews: Civil Rights Movement: In the '60s, a Struggle for Equality in US: Activists marched, held sit-in protests and led "freedom rides" to demand better treatment of black Americans. Martin Luther King Junior lived by the idea of nonviolence, but his murder led to riots in more than 100 cities.


26th Amendment: US citizens who are 18 years old or older have the right to vote. 1971.

VOANews: Nixon Promises to 'Bring the American People Together' After '68 Win
Richard Nixon lost the 1960 election to John Kennedy, but he was known for his ability to fight, to lose, and to keep trying. Those skills would soon be tested.

• USCIS 100:48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
• USCIS 100:48.49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?*
• USCIS 100:48.50. Name one right only for United States citizens.
• USCIS 100:48.54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*
• USCIS 100:48.55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
• USCIS 100:48.77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
• USCIS 100:48.84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
• USCIS 100:85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*

More activities from USCitzenPod:

• Here is a pdf of Voting Rights.
• Here is a pdf of Voting Cloze Essay.