Life in the states before the 15th amendment's establishment was in a frenzied condition. The Reconstruction Era, a period in United States history immediately following the Civil War in which the federal government set the conditions that would allow the rebellious Southern states back into the Union, was in full swing. During this time, amendments had already been set into place to help the process. These were the Reconstruction Amendments (otherwise known as Amendments Thirteen, Fourteen, and later, Fifteen). These amendments were created to rectify the Southern states mistakes when it came to the African-American race and the rights that they owned.
At the time that the Fifteenth amendment was introduced, Slavery was already abolished on a national level and former slaves were given the right to citizenship. All that was left was to grant voting rights to the former slaves now citizens. At this time, the states had the right to enforce qualifications for voters, meaning that states could limit voting based upon just the race of the voter. Before the fifteenth, this was not a problem or concern.
However, there was one important event that helped to sway the government in favor of changing this law. The Election of 1868, between Ulysses S. Grant and Horatio Seymour. If not for the African-American votes from the south, Grant would have lost, since African-Americans couldn't vote in the north at the time. Because of this event, the republicans of government realized that the votes of the African-Americans were needed to gain power.
The Fifteenth amendment was passed by Congress in 1869, and was quickly ratified by three-fourths of the states in 1870, therefore putting it into effect upon the nation.
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