Presidential Message on the 150th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 15th Amendment

On
the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment, we
celebrate one of the most fundamental and sacred rights of our
Republic—the right to vote.  
 
Our Nation was founded upon the belief that every citizen is endowed
with certain unalienable rights from our Creator.  Following the Civil
War and the abolition of slavery, the Congress worked to ensure that
“race, color, or previous condition of servitude” could no longer be
used as grounds to deny an American citizen the right to participate in
our democracy.  This historic amendment granted African American men the
right to vote and allowed them a voice in our great American
Experiment. 
 
The ratification of the 15th Amendment was a tremendous step towards a
more just society.  Fifty years later, with the ratification of the 19th
Amendment, African American women also secured the right to vote,
alongside other adult women. 
 
Today, as we recognize the remarkable progress we have made as a Nation
in forming a more perfect Union, we acknowledge the challenges that
minorities and women have overcome and the significant contributions
they continue to make in advancing liberty and building a stronger
America.