The 14th & 15th Amendments: Defining Citizenship and Voting

Target: I can explain how the 14th and 15th Amendments redefined American citizenship and democracy, and identify who was left out of these new laws.

Key Vocabulary

• Citizenship: The status of being a legal member of a country, with specific rights and duties.

• Due Process: Fair treatment through the judicial system; the government must respect your legal rights.

• Equal Protection: The promise that no person or group will be denied the same protection of the laws that others enjoy.

• Suffrage: The right to vote.

• Ratify: To officially sign or give consent to a law or agreement.

Part 1: Do Now (5 minutes)

Directions: Read the prompt below and write a 5-8 sentence response.

Prompt: Imagine a new student joins our school. The principal says they are "allowed to be in the building" (they are free to enter), but they are not allowed to join clubs, eat in the cafeteria, or vote for class president. In a complete paragraph, answer: Is this student truly a member of the school community? What is the difference between simply being "present" in a place versus actually "belonging" to it with full rights?

Sentence Starter: The student is (is/is not) truly a member of the community because... The difference between just being "present" and actually "belonging" is... For example, having full rights means you can...

Part 2: Analyzing the Sources

Directions: Analyze the two documents below and then answer the questions that follow.

Source 1: The 14th Amendment, Section 1 (Adapted Excerpt, 1868)

Original Text	Simplified Text
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States... are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."	"Anyone born in the U.S. (or who follows the legal process to become a citizen) is officially a U.S. citizen."
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens... 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."	"States cannot pass laws that take away the rights of citizens. States cannot take away a person's life, freedom, or property without fair legal procedures (Due Process). Everyone must be treated equally by the law (Equal Protection)."

Source 2: The 15th Amendment, Section 1 (Adapted Excerpt, 1870)

Original Text	Simplified Text
"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."	" neither the U.S. government nor any State government can stop a citizen from voting based on their race, their skin color, or the fact that they used to be a slave."

Analysis Questions

Directions: Answer questions 1-2 on your own.

Then, work with a partner to answer question 3.

1. Look at Source 1. The 13th Amendment gave people freedom, but the 14th Amendment gave them Citizenship. According to the text, how does someone become a citizen? What three things are states not allowed to take away without "due process"?

   
   

   Sentence Starter: According to the 14th Amendment, anyone who is... is automatically a citizen. The text says that states cannot take away a person's..., ..., or ... without due process.

   
   

2. Look at Source 2. The 15th Amendment protects the right to vote (Suffrage). What are the only three reasons a state is forbidden from using to stop someone from voting?

   
   

   Sentence Starter: The 15th Amendment says you cannot be denied the vote based on..., ..., or ...

   
   

3. (Work with your partner) The 14th Amendment promises "equal protection" for everyone. The 15th Amendment gives the vote to Black men. Why were women (including women who fought against slavery) so angry about the wording of the 15th Amendment? What specific word is missing from the list in Source 2?

   
   

   Sentence Starter: Women were angry because even though the 14th Amendment promised equality, the 15th Amendment did not protect voting rights based on... This meant that states could still legally...

   
   

Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 minutes)

Directions: Answer the following prompt in a complete paragraph (5-8 sentences).

Prompt: The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are often called the "Reconstruction Amendments." In a detailed paragraph, evaluate their success. Did these three laws successfully make African Americans full, equal citizens in 1870? Use evidence from the text of the 15th Amendment (specifically what it doesn't say) to explain why it might be easy to break.

Sentence Starter: I believe the Reconstruction Amendments were (successful/unsuccessful) because... While the 14th Amendment granted... the 15th Amendment had a major loophole because it didn't mention... This made it easy for states to stop people from voting by using...