The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution primarily addressed voting rights by prohibiting denial of the right to vote based on what?

• A. Gender.
• B. Race.
• C. Poll taxes.
• D. Age.

Answer: (B)

The main idea tested is that the 15th Amendment protects the right to vote from being denied on the basis of race. Ratified in 1870 during Reconstruction, it declares that citizens cannot be denied the vote by the United States or any state because of race, color, or a prior condition of servitude. This was aimed at securing voting rights for newly freed African American men after the Civil War. It does not address gender, age, or poll taxes—issues that would be tackled by later amendments and laws (the 19th Amendment for women's suffrage, the 26th for lowering the voting age, and later efforts to remove poll taxes). In practice, barriers beyond the letter of the law emerged, showing how discriminatory practices persisted despite the constitutional protection.