The 15th amendment, granting African American men the right to vote, was formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution on March 30, 1870. Despite the amendment, by the late 1870s, various discriminatory practices were used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote, especially in the South. State and local enforcements of the law was weak and it often was ignored outright, mainly in the South and in areas where the population was high and their vote threatened the political status quo. In Mississippi alone, voter turnout among blacks increased from 6 percent in 1964 to 59 percent in
The 15th amendment, granting African American men the right to vote, was formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution on March 30, 1870. Despite the amendment, by the late 1870s, various discriminatory practices were used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote, especially in the South. State and local enforcements of the law was weak and it often was ignored outright, mainly in the South and in areas where the population was high and their vote threatened the political status quo. In Mississippi alone, voter turnout among blacks increased from 6 percent in 1964 to 59 percent in