Which statement best describes the primary protection offered by the 15th Amendment?

Which statement best describes the primary protection offered by the 15th Amendment?

• A. The right to vote is extended to women.
• B. The right to vote cannot be denied because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
• C. The right to a free public education is guaranteed.
• D. The right to bear arms is protected.

Answer: (B)

The main idea tested is that voting rights cannot be denied because of race, color, or a person’s previous condition of servitude. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, was designed to ensure that a citizen’s race could not be used to bar them from voting, especially to protect the newly freed Black men after the Civil War. This protection focuses on who can vote, not on other rights like education or gun ownership, which is why statements about women’s suffrage, free public education, or bearing arms aren’t what the amendment addresses. In practice, although the amendment prohibited racial discrimination at the ballot box, many states found ways around it for decades—through poll taxes, literacy tests, and other tactics—until stronger enforcement came with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The main idea tested is that voting rights cannot be denied because of race, color, or a person’s previous condition of servitude. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, was designed to ensure that a citizen’s race could not be used to bar them from voting, especially to protect the newly freed Black men after the Civil War. This protection focuses on who can vote, not on other rights like education or gun ownership, which is why statements about women’s suffrage, free public education, or bearing arms aren’t what the amendment addresses. In practice, although the amendment prohibited racial discrimination at the ballot box, many states found ways around it for decades—through poll taxes, literacy tests, and other tactics—until stronger enforcement came with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.