Question

Why is the fifteenth amendment (added to the U.S. Constitution in 1865) referenced repeatedly by a law passed in 1965?

A
The fifteenth amendment was not written to ensure the voting rights of Black women

B
The fifteenth amendment’s protections had been added by the 1960s to many states’ laws

C
The fifteenth amendment had not been consistently enforced especially in the Jim Crow South

D
The fifteenth amendment did not go far enough to protect the right to vote for all races

Answer 1

C

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 repeatedly invoked the 15th Amendment because its promise (prohibiting racial discrimination in voting) had not been consistently enforced—especially under Jim Crow laws in the South—so the Act provided strong federal enforcement and remedies.