Ratified February 3, 1870
The last of the three Reconstruction Amendments: it bars denying or restricting the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Despite this, discriminatory tactics like literacy tests and poll taxes were used for decades afterward to suppress Black voters, until later laws (the 24th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965) closed those loopholes.
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.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.