The Fifteenth Amendment

Object Details

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

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”.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1870

Object number

NPG.87.56

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

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")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Location

Currently not on view

National Portrait Gallery

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 flag\American

Martin Robison Delany: Male

Martin Robison Delany: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer

Martin Robison Delany: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer

Martin Robison Delany: Medicine and Health\Physician

Martin Robison Delany: Arts and Culture\Journalism and Media\Newspaper publisher

Hiram Rhoades Revels: Male

Hiram Rhoades Revels: Politics and Government\Government official\US Senator\Mississippi

Hiram Rhoades Revels: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Pastor

Hiram Rhoades Revels: Politics and Government\Government official\State Senator\Mississippi

Frederick Douglass: Male

Frederick Douglass: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer

Frederick Douglass: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer

Frederick Douglass: Arts and Culture\Journalism and Media\Newspaper publisher

Frederick Douglass: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Minister

Frederick Douglass: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\Abolitionist

Frederick Douglass: Business and Finance\Enslaved person

Schuyler Colfax: Male

Schuyler Colfax: Politics and Government\Vice-President of US

Schuyler Colfax: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer

Schuyler Colfax: Politics and Government\Government official\US Congressman\Speaker of the House

Schuyler Colfax: Arts and Culture\Journalism and Media\Newspaper publisher

Schuyler Colfax: Politics and Government\Government official\US Congressman\Indiana

Schuyler Colfax: Business and Finance\Auditor

John Brown: Male

John Brown: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\Abolitionist

Abraham Lincoln: Male

Abraham Lincoln: Law and Crime\Lawyer

Abraham Lincoln: Military and Intelligence\Soldier

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\President of US

Abraham Lincoln: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Environmentalist

Abraham Lincoln: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\US Congressman\Illinois

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\Surveyor

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\State Senator\Illinois

Abraham Lincoln: Politics and Government\Government official\Postmaster

Abraham Lincoln: Business and Finance\Tradesman\Boat builder

Ulysses Simpson Grant: Male

Ulysses Simpson Grant: Business and Finance\Natural resources commerce\Agriculturist\Farmer

Ulysses Simpson Grant: Politics and Government\Government official\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\Government official\President of US

Ulysses Simpson Grant: Civilian awards\Congressional Gold Medal

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.87.56

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4aa248257-14e2-472d-b022-3a2d17c25f6f