Read the following example of legal voting rights in Ohio in 1803 and the Fifteenth Amendment. Describe how the Fifteenth Amendment was an effort to reconcile the discrepancy between American ideals and public policies.

Question

Ohio State Constitution

“In all elections, all white male inhabitants above the age of twenty-one years, having resided in the State one year next preceding the election, and who have paid or are charged with a State or county tax, shall enjoy the right of an elector; but no person shall be entitled to vote, except in the county or district in which he shall actually reside at the time of the election . . . .”

Fifteenth Amendment

“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.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

(1 point)
Responses

Congress passed a law that removed voting restrictions based on race.
Congress passed a law that removed voting restrictions based on race.

Interest groups pressured lawmakers in Ohio to remove voting restrictions based on race.
Interest groups pressured lawmakers in Ohio to remove voting restrictions based on race.

Social movements organized at the grassroots level in Ohio to demonstrate against the law that restricts voting based on race.
Social movements organized at the grassroots level in Ohio to demonstrate against the law that restricts voting based on race.

Congress passed a law that removed voting restrictions based on gender.

Answer 1

The Fifteenth Amendment was an effort to reconcile the discrepancy between American ideals and public policies by explicitly prohibiting the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This was a significant step toward aligning the democratic ideals of equality and universal suffrage - concepts enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution - with the realities of voting laws that had historically marginalized non-white populations.

The Ohio State Constitution of 1803 limited voting rights to "all white male inhabitants," thereby institutionalizing racial discrimination and contradicting the principle that all men are created equal. The Fifteenth Amendment aimed to correct such discrepancies by ensuring that citizenship and the right to vote could not be denied on the basis of race. In this way, the amendment sought to establish a more inclusive electoral process that aligned with the foundational American beliefs in liberty and equality for all citizens.

While the amendment was a significant milestone, it was just one part of the broader struggle for civil rights and equality in voting, which would encounter numerous obstacles such as Jim Crow laws and other discriminatory practices in the years after its ratification. Therefore, the Fifteenth Amendment represents both a commitment to addressing the ideal versus reality gap in voting rights and a legal framework that would enable further efforts to achieve true electoral equality.