Amendment1870
15th Amendment Formally Certified
Secretary of State Hamilton Fish officially certified the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The certification followed ratification by the required three-fourths of the states.
Why It Matters
The formal certification of the 15th Amendment represented a constitutional commitment to racial equality in voting, though the full promise of the amendment would not be realized until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.