Question

passage 1 the fifteenth amendment to the united states constitution (1870) resolved by the senate and house of representatives of the united states of america in congress assembled that the following article be proposed which, when ratified by three - fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the constitution, namely article xv 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 the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. and further, that the amendment to the constitution has been ratified by the legislatures of all states. passage 2 excerpt from united states supreme court decision in smith v. allwright (1943) lonnie e smith, an african american from texas, sued to overturn a 1923 state law declaring that only white citizens could vote in texass democratic party primary elections. lower courts had ruled that political parties were private organizations and could make their own rules. the supreme courts landmark decision held that texass all - white democratic party primaries were unconstitutional. the united states is a constitutional democracy. its organic law grants to all citizens a right to participate in the choice of elected officials without restriction by any state because of race. this grant to the people of the opportunity for choice is not to be nullified by a state through casting its electoral process in a form which permits a private organization to practice racial discrimination in the election. constitutional rights would be of little value if they could be thus indirectly. select the correct answer. which conclusion about voting rights can be drawn based on these two excerpts? a. because the fifteenth amendment did not apply to all states, people of color in texas were barred from primary voting. b. the supreme court agreed that states should be able to make exceptions to the fifteenth amendment. c. despite the fifteenth amendment, some states had wrongly blocked people of color from voting in all elections. d. the fifteenth amendment guaranteed the right to vote in general elections but not in primary elections.

Explanation:

The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited the denial of voting rights based on race, but in Texas, people of color were blocked from voting in primary elections despite this amendment. The Supreme - Court case Smith v. Allwright (1943) addressed this racial discrimination in voting. Option A is incorrect as the Fifteenth Amendment applied to all states. Option B is not accurate as the Supreme Court did not agree that states could make exceptions to the Fifteenth Amendment. Option D is wrong because the passage doesn't suggest that the Fifteenth Amendment only guaranteed general - election voting rights. Option C is correct as it shows that some states wrongly blocked people of color from voting in all elections despite the Fifteenth Amendment.

Answer:

C. Despite the Fifteenth Amendment, some states had wrongly blocked people of color from voting in all elections.