1. THE 3/5TH COMPROMISE
What it means
The Three-Fifths Compromise refers to the political agreement made between the delegates of Northern and Southern states at the United States Constitutional Convention of 1787, stating that 3/5ths of the enslaved population would be counted in to determine the direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.
Letter of the Law
Article I, Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature… “Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons…”
Connection to Black Voting Rights
The 3/5TH Compromise reinforced the concept of enslaved Africans as “non-persons” by counting us as “fractional” human beings. The compromise also speaks to the fear that in a “one man one vote” scenario, enslaved Africans, if counted as “full human beings” and citizens, would outnumber and out vote the white population in slave holding states.
2. THE 13TH AMENDMENT
What it means
The 13th Amendment “abolishes the institution of slavery” and “involuntary servitude” except in the case of those convicted of a crime or drafted into the military.
Letter of the Law
In United States and Territories Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Connection to Black Voting Rights
After the period of legal slavery was abolished, states began to enact laws in the form of “Black codes” the violation of which could place a Black person in “chain gangs” and prison. This weaponization of the criminal justice system against “now free” Black people, gave rise to the mass incarceration system which is responsible for mass “disenfranchisement” and loss of voting rights during and after time served.
3. THE 14TH AMENDMENT
What it means
The 14th Amendment grants the “rights of citizenship” and “equal protection of the laws” to former slaves.
Letter of the Law
Section 1- All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2- Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Connection to Black Voting Rights
While the 14th Amendment grants rights of citizenship, it also includes the clause around “when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors” can be denied. As with the 13th amendment, the abridging of the right to vote is tied to participation in “rebellion or other crime,” which has been used to restrict the right to vote and collective voting power of Black people in a context of disproportionate criminal justice targeting and incarceration.
4. THE 15TH AMENDMENT
What it means
The 15th Amendment prohibits the abridging of the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or former condition of slavery.
Letter of the Law
Section 1- The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2- The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Connection to Black Voting Rights
The 15th Amendment acknowledges the Black people as formerly and/ or descendants of formerly enslaved African people as vulnerable to voter suppression and subversion and sets up provisions by which laws can/ should be enacted to protect the rights of Black voters.
5. VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965
What it means
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 enforces the 15th Amendment by outlawing the specific discriminatory practices that were being used to restrict Black people from voting (especially in the South) post-slavery through the 1960s.
Letter of the Law
AN ACT To enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that this Act shall be known as the “Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
SEC. 2. No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.
SEC. 3. (a) Whenever the Attorney General institutes a proceeding under any statute to enforce the guarantees of the fifteenth amendment in any State or political subdivision the court shall authorize the appointment of Federal examiners by the United States Civil Service Commission in accordance with section 6 to serve for such period of time and for such political subdivisions as the court shall determine is appropriate to enforce the guarantees of the fifteenth amendment.
(1) as part of any interlocutory order if the court determines that the appointment of such examiners is necessary to enforce such guarantees or (2) as part of any final judgment if the court finds that violations of the fifteenth amendment justifying equitable relief have occurred in such State or subdivision: Provided, That the court need not authorize the appointment of examiners if any incidents of denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color (1) have been few in number and have been promptly and effectively corrected by State or local action, (2) the continuing effect of such incidents has been eliminated, and (3) there is no reasonable probability of their recurrence in the future.
Connection to Black Voting Rights
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 directly addressed the specific tactics that were being used to suppress the Black vote, especially in the South, including imposing “additional” qualifiers and pre-qualification for voting. The Act also reinforces the obligation of the Federal government to investigate discriminatory practices and to enforce the 15th Amendment protections.
