SS.7.C.3.7
Analyze the impact of the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments
on participation of minority groups in the American political process.
______________________________________________________________________________________ SS.7.C.3.7 Benchmark Clarification 2: Students will evaluate the impact these
amendments have had on various social movements.
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The 13th Amendment: Slaves were considered property. They were not considered
citizens, and so they could not vote. While this amendment did not increase voting rights,
it gave all slaves their freedom. It was an important first step toward voting rights for
former slaves.
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The 14th Amendment: This amendment said that anyone who had been born a slave
was a citizen of the United States. It also said that state governments could not pass laws
that limited U.S. citizens’ rights. Finally, it extended the right to vote to all males age 21
and over.
The impact of the 14th Amendment on social movements in the U.S. was important. The
U.S. Constitution now protected all U.S. citizens (including former slaves) from state laws
that discriminated against them because of their race. This meant that AfricanAmericans and women could go to court when they believed that state laws discriminated
against them and violated their rights as U.S. citizens.
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The 15th Amendment: This amendment protected the right to vote for any male over the
age of 21. It strengthened the 14th Amendment.
The former slave states opposed the ratification of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
They decided to try other ways, especially passing new laws, to keep African-Americans
from voting. For example, in Alabama, African-Americans had to take a 68-question
“literacy” test that had to be answered completely and perfectly in a short time. If
African-Americans taking the test missed even one question, they could not register to
vote. In Mississippi, African-Americans were asked questions that had no correct answer,
such as “How many seeds are in a watermelon?” Failing to answer such questions
correctly meant that these U.S. citizens were not allowed to register to vote.
The impact of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments on various social movements was
significant. For example, individual citizens and interest groups sued states because
state laws denied them their rights as U.S. citizens. Interest groups also organized
marches and took part in civil disobedience as a way to protest these state laws. The
number of protest activities and lawsuits against states increased greatly beginning in the
1950s.
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The 19th Amendment: A person’s gender (meaning whether someone is male or female)
could not be used as a reason to deny suffrage, or the right to vote. This amendment
said that states and the federal government could not prevent women from voting.
The ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women power that they had not had before.
Beginning in the 1960s, women began to form interest groups to make sure they had
equal job opportunities, and other economic and social opportunities. Women have also
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Florida Joint Center for Citizenship taken part in marches and protests for women’s rights. Today, more women than ever
run for, and win, elected offices at all levels of government. Women have also sued in
court when federal and state laws discriminate against them because they are women.
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The 24th Amendment: Before the 24th Amendment, many states tried to charge people
money (a poll tax) to let them vote. This often kept minorities (especially AfricanAmericans in the former slave states) or poor people from voting. The ratification of the
24th Amendment allowed more minorities and poor people to vote because it made poll
taxes unconstitutional. One impact of this amendment is that candidates and elected
leaders now pay more attention to the concerns of the poor and minorities because they
know that these individuals can vote in elections.
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The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, said that any United States citizen age 18 or older
could vote. Before 1971, the federal government and some states, only allowed people
age 21 or older to vote. One impact of this amendment is that candidates and elected
leaders pay more attention to the concerns of young people because they know that
these young people can vote in elections.
13th Amendment - an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that made slavery unconstitutional in the United States
14th Amendment - an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that defines citizenship, grants citizenship to former slaves, and
defines voters as males at least 21 year of age
15th Amendment - an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that makes it illegal for the federal or state governments to
deny someone the right to vote based on their race
19th Amendment - an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote
24th Amendment - an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that made poll taxes illegal as a requirement for voting
26th Amendment - an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that lowered the minimum voting age to 18
civil disobedience - the refusal to obey certain laws as a form of political protest
discrimination - treating a person or group unfairly based on their race, religion, gender, disability, or other reasons
interest group - a group of people who are concerned with a particular issue and who try to influence legislators to act in
their favor, also known as a special interest group
literacy test - a written test used to decide whether or not someone was eligible to register to vote
poll tax - a fee someone has to pay in order to vote
ratification - the process of formally approving something
suffrage - the right to vote
unconstitutional - not in agreement with the U.S Constitution
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