Question 98 of 128 · American History · 1800s
When did all men get the right to vote?
Accepted answers
- After the Civil War
- During Reconstruction
- (With the) 15th Amendment
- 1870
One answer from these four is all the officer needs.
Why this is the answer
All men gained the right to vote with the 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870. It says that neither the federal government nor any state may deny or limit a citizen's right to vote because of race, color or previous condition of servitude, meaning past enslavement. It was written after the war and the end of slavery, so that men of every race, including those who had just been freed, could vote. A second section gives Congress the power to enforce that promise through its own laws. USCIS accepts four answers, and they describe the same moment from different angles: after the Civil War, during Reconstruction, with the 15th Amendment, or 1870. Two place it in time, one names the law, and one gives the year. If numbers make you nervous, "after the Civil War" and "during Reconstruction" need none at all. The promise was not kept everywhere. After the 15th Amendment passed, some leaders in the Southern states were angry that African Americans could vote and created fees called poll taxes to keep them away from the polls. It took the 24th Amendment, in 1964, to make those taxes illegal. The study guide also points to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as part of the longer story of who gets to vote. The word "men" in the question is deliberate. Women of any race still could not vote nationwide in 1870. That changed with the 19th Amendment in 1920, the result of the women's suffrage movement, and in 1971 the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Together these are the four voting amendments the study guide lists. Answering 1920, the year women won the vote, is the mistake to avoid. Hold the pair in your head as 15 and 1870 for men of every race, 19 and 1920 for women, and the question stops being a guessing game.
Sources
- Constitutional Amendments 11-27 · National Archives
- Learn About the United States: Quick Civics Lessons for the Naturalization Test (2008 version) · M-638 (rev. 08/21)
- One Nation, One People: The USCIS 2025 Civics Test Study Guide · M-1175 (2025)
- 128 Civics Questions and Answers (2025 version) · M-1778 (09/25)
Practice 20 random questions like the interview
Drawn from the official 128, 12 correct answers to pass, with an explanation after every answer.
This question also comes up in the game Put U.S. history in order. There are more on the civics games page.