The Fifteenth Amendment as finally passed by Congress, February 26, 1869, was in these words:
ARTICLE XV
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.
It was declared ratified by the legislatures of twenty-nine states on March 30, 1870. Ohio at first rejected, but later ratified it. New York at first ratified, but later reconsidered and rejected it.
FOOTNOTES:
[113] Mr. Wilson communicated these facts to me at the time of their occurrence, and the correctness of this narrative has been confirmed by Major-General Grenville M. Dodge, who was then in close communication with both parties.
CHAPTER XXII
CAUSES OF DISCONTENT