“The right to vote is the basic right without which all others are meaningless.”  This was especially true for those citizens, on whose behalf, the American people formally expanded and guaranteed access to the polls on this day 150 years ago.

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.