The Fifteenth Amendment and the Dissolution of the AERA
The proposed Fifteenth Amendment became the decisive factor in the dissolution of the American Equal Rights Association. This amendment stated that voting rights could not be denied or abridged based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Quote: "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 1 of the Fifteenth Amendment
In May 1869, the AERA convened in New York to discuss its position on the Fifteenth Amendment. The proceedings revealed deep-seated prejudices among its leaders that proved irreconcilable.
Highlight: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony opposed the amendment, arguing that "educated" (implying white) women should be granted suffrage before African American men.
Susan B. Anthony's statement, "If intelligence, justice, and morals are to be placed in the government, then let the question of woman be brought first and that of negro last," exposed the racist undertones in some suffragists' arguments.
Frederick Douglass, however, maintained his support for the Fifteenth Amendment. He believed it was crucial for African Americans to gain political power in a country that still undervalued their lives and rights.
Vocabulary: Suffrage - The right to vote in political elections.
This disagreement over the Fifteenth Amendment ultimately led to the split of the women's suffrage movement and the dissolution of the AERA. Douglass's position highlighted his commitment to both racial equality and women's rights, even when these causes came into conflict within the reform movements of his time.
