Which of the following groups gained more political participation when amendments were added to the Constitution?
Asian Americans
Native Americans
Hispanic Americans
African Americans
which is right?
The group that gained more political participation when amendments were added to the Constitution are African Americans. This is particularly true with the 15th and 24th Amendments:
1. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, states that the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, which was aimed at ensuring that African American men could not be denied the right to vote on the basis of their race. However, it was not until the Civil Rights Movement and subsequent legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that many of the barriers to voting for African Americans in the United States were effectively removed.
2. The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, abolished the poll tax in federal elections, which had been used in some states to prevent African Americans from voting.
Other groups also benefited from changes to the Constitution and federal legislation:
- Native Americans were granted citizenship and the right to vote through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, but discriminatory practices continued to limit their participation in elections until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided greater protections.
- Hispanic Americans, who are often included in the wider category of "citizens of the United States," had the right to vote as citizens, but they too faced discriminatory practices in some states, such as literacy tests and English-only ballots, that were barriers to their political participation. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped to address many of these issues.
- Asian Americans' right to vote was also effectively secured over time, with key moments including the repeal of racist exclusionary laws and gaining citizenship rights. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 eliminated race as a bar to immigration and naturalization, allowing more Asian immigrants to become citizens and vote.
While the 15th and 24th Amendments specifically aimed to address issues directly affecting African American suffrage, subsequent legislation and court rulings have benefited all of these groups by making the electoral process more inclusive and accessible.