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The Fifteenth Amendment

The Fifteenth Amendment
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Copy after
James Carter Beard, 1837 - 1913
Lithographer
Thomas Kelly
Sitter
Ulysses Simpson Grant, 27 Apr 1822 - 23 Jul 1885
Martin Robison Delany, 6 May 1812 - 25 Jan 1885
Frederick Douglass, Feb 1818 - 20 Feb 1895
Hiram Rhoades Revels, 27 Sep 1827 - 16 Jan 1901
Schuyler Colfax, 23 Mar 1823 - 13 Jan 1885
John Brown, 9 May 1800 - 2 Dec 1859
Abraham Lincoln, 12 Feb 1809 - 15 Apr 1865
Date
1870
Type
Print
Medium
Hand-colored lithograph on paper
Dimensions
Image: 46.8 x 64.6cm (18 7/16 x 25 7/16")
Sheet: 55.1 x 70.7cm (21 11/16 x 27 13/16")
Mat: 66 x 86.4cm (26 x 34")
Topic
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
Printed Material\Book
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Weapon\Sword
Nature & Environment\Animal\Horse
Architecture\Building
Symbols & Motifs\Flag
Music\Musical instrument\Drum
Architecture\Building\Church\Pulpit
Human Figures\Soldier
Human Figures\Crowd
Symbols & Motifs\Flag\National\United States
Martin Robison Delany: Male
Martin Robison Delany: Literature\Writer
Martin Robison Delany: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer
Martin Robison Delany: Medicine and Health\Physician
Martin Robison Delany: Journalism and Media\Newspaper publisher
Hiram Rhoades Revels: Male
Hiram Rhoades Revels: Politics and Government\US Senator\Mississippi
Hiram Rhoades Revels: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Pastor
Hiram Rhoades Revels: Politics and Government\State Senator\Mississippi
Frederick Douglass: Male
Frederick Douglass: Literature\Writer
Frederick Douglass: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer
Frederick Douglass: Journalism and Media\Newspaper publisher
Frederick Douglass: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Minister
Frederick Douglass: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist
Frederick Douglass: Society and Social Change\Enslaved person
Schuyler Colfax: Male
Schuyler Colfax: Politics and Government\Vice-President of US
Schuyler Colfax: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer
Schuyler Colfax: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Speaker of the House
Schuyler Colfax: Journalism and Media\Newspaper publisher
Schuyler Colfax: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Indiana
Schuyler Colfax: Business and Finance\Banking and Finance\Auditor
John Brown: Male
John Brown: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist
Abraham Lincoln: Male
Abraham Lincoln: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Abraham Lincoln: Military and Intelligence\Soldier
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\President of US
Abraham Lincoln: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Environmentalist
Abraham Lincoln: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Illinois
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\Surveyor
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\State Senator\Illinois
Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\Postmaster
Abraham Lincoln: Crafts and Trades\Boat builder
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Male
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Natural Resource Occupations\Agriculturist\Farmer
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\Secretary of War
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Civil War
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\General
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Politics and Government\President of US
Ulysses Simpson Grant: Congressional Gold Medal
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.87.56
Exhibition Label
This print features a festive parade held in Baltimore in May 1870 to celebrate the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution (1870), which granted the right to vote to male citizens, regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Following the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery (1865), and the Fourteenth to guarantee citizenship to all persons born in the United States (1868), the Fifteenth held special significance: For the first time in U.S. history, it empowered a minority class.
Vignettes surrounding the central image depict some of the hopes, dreams, and expectations of African Americans. At lower left center, a couple enacts their new right to a legal marriage, which had been denied them prior to emancipation. At the lower right center, a Black elected official is shown attending a session of Congress, with a caption reading, “Our Representative Sits in the National Legislature.”
Esta imagen muestra un festivo desfile en Baltimore en mayo de 1870 para celebrar la ratificación de la Enmienda 15 de la Constitución (1870). Esta otorgaba el derecho al voto a todo ciudadano hombre, sin importar “raza, color o previa condición de servidumbre”. Tras la ratificación de la Enmienda 13, que abolía la esclavitud (1865), y la Enmienda 14, que garantizaba la ciudadanía a toda persona nacida en EE.UU. (1868), la Enmienda 15 tenía especial significado: por primera vez en su historia, la nación empoderaba a una minoría.
Las viñetas que rodean la imagen central muestran sueños y expectativas de los afroamericanos. Abajo, a la izquierda del centro, vemos a una pareja que ejerce su nuevo derecho al matrimonio legal, el cual se les había negado antes de la emancipación. Al lado derecho, un funcionario negro electo asiste a una sesión del Congreso, con la inscripción “Nuestro representante toma asiento en la legislatura nacional”.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view