What Are the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution?

Learn how the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments expanded U.S. voting rights by prohibiting racial discrimination, granting women's suffrage, and lowering the voting age.

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The 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution expand voting rights: the 15th (1870) prohibits denying voting rights based on race, the 19th (1920) grants women the right to vote, and the 26th (1971) lowers the voting age to 18.

FAQs & Answers

  1. What does the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution do? The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibits denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
  2. When was the 19th Amendment ratified and what did it change? Ratified in 1920, the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, prohibiting voting discrimination based on sex.
  3. Why was the voting age lowered to 18 in the 26th Amendment? The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, largely influenced by arguments from the Vietnam War era that those old enough to be drafted should vote.