March 30

The 15^th Amendment Adopted

On March 30, 1870 the 15^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted giving African American men the right to vote.

Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey was the first African American to vote after the adoption of the 15th Amendment. Peterson exercised his right to vote on March 31, 1870. The 15th Amendments rights while still tangible on paper were short lived in reality.  Towards the end of the nineteenth century going into the next century, the builders of racist intimidation had disenfranchised African American male voters through a foundation of state laws in which the South perfected keeping African Americans from voting with literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses and other discriminatory practices. African Americans  were not only challenged by the laws, but they also faced real physical threats from white hate groups if they tried to vote.