Exploring the 15th Amendment and Its Impact

The video discusses the 15th Amendment, part of the Reconstruction Amendments, which aimed to grant voting rights to African-Americans post-Civil War. Despite its promise, Southern states used tactics like poll taxes and grandfather clauses to disenfranchise African-Americans. The Supreme Court upheld these practices, undermining the amendment. It wasn't until the Civil Rights Movement and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that these rights were enforced. The video highlights the struggle for equality and the eventual triumph of civil rights.

When was the Fifteenth Amendment ratified?

• March 4, 1877

• February 3, 1870

• April 9, 1865

• February 26, 1869

What event marked the beginning of the Reconstruction era?

• The ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment

• The passage of the Voting Rights Act

• The end of the Civil War

• The election of Rutherford B. Hayes

Why was the Fifteenth Amendment necessary despite the Fourteenth Amendment?

• The Fourteenth Amendment only protected civil rights, not political rights

• The Fourteenth Amendment was never ratified

• The Fifteenth Amendment was needed to abolish slavery

• The Fourteenth Amendment only applied to Northern states

What were some tactics used by Southern states to disenfranchise African Americans after the Fifteenth Amendment?

• Poll taxes and literacy tests

• Grandfather clauses and property requirements

• Both A and B

• None of the above

Which Supreme Court Justice upheld disenfranchisement tactics in the Giles decision?

• Earl Warren

• Thurgood Marshall

• John Marshall Harlan

• Oliver Wendell Holmes

What was the significance of the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision?

• It upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1875

• It overturned the Fifteenth Amendment

• It upheld railroad segregation as consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment

• It declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional

What did Justice John Marshall Harlan argue in his dissent in Plessy vs. Ferguson?

• The Fifteenth Amendment should be repealed

• Separate but equal is fair

• Segregation is necessary for public order

• The Constitution is colorblind

What major event after World War II helped change public opinion about segregation?

• The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• The election of Franklin D. Roosevelt

• The end of the Korean War

• The integration of Major League Baseball

What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 achieve?

• It ended the Civil War

• It enforced the voting rights promised by the Fifteenth Amendment

• It granted women the right to vote

• It abolished slavery

What does the phrase 'separate but equal' refer to?

• Equal rights for all citizens

• Segregation of facilities as long as they are equal

• Integration of public schools

• Abolition of slavery