KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
Shall Not Be Denied
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
(Genre: Narrative Nonfiction)
1
At the end of the Civil War, the
Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution ended
slavery. In 1868, the 14th Amendment
guaranteed that African Americans were
citizens with equal protection under the law.
But one enormous issue was left unsolved:
could newly free African Americans vote?
2
After the Civil War, the Republican
Congress began the program of
Reconstruction. Reconstruction aimed to
rebuild and restructure the economy and
government of the South to match those of
the North. Thousands of northern soldiers
and industrialists flooded into the warravaged South, taking over business and
politics and putting Republicans in power.
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black voters. Others created whites-only
special elections. Even in the North, several
states struck down laws that would have
guaranteed African Americans the right to
vote. It became clear that the states weren’t
about to grant African Americans the right
to vote without federal intervention. And
the federal government would not intervene
while Johnson was in office.
Southern Democrats bitterly resented
Reconstruction. Though the guns of war were
quiet now, the political war still raged. In an
effort to heal the nation, President Lincoln left
the controversial issue of the right of African
Americans to vote up to individual states. But
the southern states were not willing to grant
this right, and African American rights were
left in tatters.
After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew
Johnson came into the White House.
Johnson was a Southern Democrat, and
he quickly began his own, more moderate
Reconstruction. Under Johnson, the southern
states passed a rash of laws preventing
African Americans from voting. Some of
these “Black Codes” put simple bans on
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The Radical Republicans in Congress had
a solution: get Johnson out of office. In a
bold move, they began an impeachment trial
in 1868, accusing Johnson of improperly
replacing cabinet members when he took
over Reconstruction. Though the Republicans
were powerful and Johnson was unpopular,
in the end, Johnson was declared not
guilty by one vote. Republicans did not
regain power until the following fall, when
Ulysses S. Grant narrowly defeated Johnson
in an election. Finally, with Republicans
in both Congress and the White House, a
constitutional amendment guaranteeing
African Americans the right to vote could
move forward.
6
After some political wrangling, Ohio
representative John Bingham introduced
the 15th Amendment to the Constitution.
It stated that the “right of Citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be denied . . .
on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude.” To become part of
the Constitution, the amendment had to
pass both houses of Congress and two-thirds
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KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
Shall Not Be Denied continued
of the state legislatures. But even though
congressional Republicans and the President
favored it, controversy raged.
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
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If African Americans could suddenly vote,
Congress realized, the “official” population
of the South would spike. This population
increase would give Southern states many
new members of Congress, and would likely
end the Republican majority. Many moderate
Republicans backed off from voting rights,
simply to preserve their party’s position of
power. Even radical Republicans toned down
their opinions, knowing that the Democratic
South still seethed with resentment and
would reject anything that was too bold.
Another controversy arose over women’s
suffrage. During the Civil War and
Reconstruction, African Americans and
women worked side by side, demanding
rights for all. They succeeded in passing
two amendments to the constitution. The
13th abolished all forms of slavery. The 14th
declared that former slaves were full U.S.
citizens. However, the 14th amendment
specified that citizenship only applied to
“male inhabitants.” Women’s suffrage was
deeply controversial, and Congress knew that
if they did not take great care in wording the
14th Amendment, they might “accidentally”
give women the right to vote. Congress
believed that excluding women was the only
way the 14th amendment would pass.
Women suffragists were outraged. The split
between the women’s-rights movement and
the African American’s rights movement
never healed. When the 15th Amendment
came up three years later, many women’s
rights activists rallied against it. A votingrights act that excluded women, they argued,
was no voting-rights act at all. The most
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prominent activists in the country, Susan
B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
suddenly reversed their positions on African
American rights. African American activists—
including Frederick Douglass, a former friend
of Anthony’s—felt deeply betrayed.
10
Also, while Republicans wanted to extend
voting rights to black citizens, they were still
bigoted against others, especially the Irish in
New England and the Chinese in the West.
Many sought to craft a law that would give
African Americans the right to vote but still
allow discriminatory poll taxes and literacy
tests. Radical Republicans, especially Senator
Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, repeatedly
tried, and failed, to reword the amendment
so that “property” and “education” were also
outlawed as grounds for discrimination. But a
broader law was not to be.
11
After months of bickering, a final version
of the amendment passed both the House
and the Senate. Now came the truly difficult
part. It was time for two-thirds of the state
legislatures to ratify it. At the time, that meant
28 of the 37 existing states.
12
The Republican Congress strong-armed
ratification out of a few Southern states that
were still under control of Reconstruction.
Republican New England and New York
quickly passed the amendment as well. But
the ratification stalled in the West. California
and Oregon, disturbed by the idea of allowing
Chinese Americans to vote, rejected the
amendment.
13
Over the course of 1869, states granted
their approval one by one. In early 1870,
the amendment was close to passing. But
suddenly, New York Senator William Tweed,
known as “Boss” Tweed, introduced a motion
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KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
Shall Not Be Denied continued
to take back the state’s approval. Boss Tweed
was the head of the notoriously corrupt
Democratic organization Tammany Hall.
His fellow Democratic legislators followed
his lead. This action threatened the entire
amendment. Luckily, in February of 1870,
Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas passed the
amendment, giving it one more state than it
needed. The amendment became law, with
or without New York.
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
14
African Americans celebrated passage of
the amendment with parades and parties.
But the celebrations were short-lived. Because
the amendment was so narrow, states could
still discriminate against African American
voters with poll taxes and impossible
literacy tests. The “Black Laws” morphed into
Jim Crow laws, enforcing segregation and
discrimination. It was not until passage of the
Voting Rights Act a century later that these
practices were shut down. African Americans
continue to fight for full justice and political
participation today.
Comprehension Check
1A. What does the author describe as the
1B. Where does the author explicitly
15th Amendment’s greatest weakness?
state the answer to Part A?
a. It does not guarantee women the
a. paragraph 9
right to vote.
b. paragraph 12
b. It was only passed by Republicans in
c. paragraph 13
Congress, so it was not bipartisan.
d. paragraph 14
c. It did not prevent discriminatory
laws such as poll taxes and
literacy tests.
d. It took a long time to pass because
it was controversial.
2.How does the author’s description of Reconstruction support the passage’s
central idea of the creation of the 15th Amendment?
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Reading Informational Text: Key Ideas and Details 3
KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
3A. The passage describes the 15th
4A. What can you infer about the
Amendment as “narrow.” What would
a “broad” voting-rights amendment
look like in comparison, according to
the author?
underlying cause of Johnson’s
impeachment trial?
a. Johnson’s impeachment was
justified, because he did improperly
replace Cabinet members.
a. It would guarantee voting rights
for women.
b. Johnson’s impeachment was mostly
b. It would guarantee voting rights
political, because Republicans
wanted to remove him from office.
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
for Chinese and Irish Americans.
c. It would guarantee rights only
c. Johnson’s impeachment was mostly
to black men.
political, but he did improperly
replace Cabinet members.
d. It would guarantee voting rights
d. Johnson’s impeachment was
and outlaw discriminatory laws.
justified, because he continued to
obstruct Reconstruction.
3B. What is the best evidence for your
answer in Part A?
4B. Which sentence in the text is the
a. “It stated that the ‘right of Citizens
strongest evidence for your answer
in Part A?
of the United States to vote shall
not be denied . . . on account of
race, color, or previous condition of
servitude.’”
a. “After Lincoln’s assassination,
Andrew Johnson came into the
White House.”
b. “A voting-rights act that excluded
women, they argued, was no votingrights act at all.”
c. “Radical Republicans, especially
Senator Charles Sumner of
Massachusetts, repeatedly tried, and
failed, to reword the amendment
so that ‘property’ and ‘education’
were also outlawed as grounds for
discrimination.”
d. “Even radical Republicans toned
Congress had a solution: get
Johnson out of office.”
c. “In a bold move, they began an
impeachment trial in 1868, accusing
Johnson of improperly replacing
cabinet members when he took over
Reconstruction.”
d. “Though the Republicans were
powerful and Johnson was
unpopular, in the end, Johnson was
declared not guilty by one vote.”
down their opinions, knowing that
the Democratic South still seethed
with resentment and would reject
anything that was too bold.”
Unit 3
b. “The Radical Republicans in
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Reading Informational Text: Key Ideas and Details 4
KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
5.Which word in paragraph 6 uses the Latin root contra-, meaning
“against”? Write the word and its definition.
6.Compare Lincoln’s views on Reconstruction and voting rights
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
with Johnson’s.
Unit 3
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