2025 civics test · Question 98 · 1800s
When did all men get the right to vote?
Any one of these answers is accepted
- After the Civil War
- During Reconstruction
- (With the) 15th Amendment
- 1870
What this means
All men got the right to vote after the Civil War, with the 15th Amendment in 1870.
Before then, the vote was mostly limited to white men. The 15th Amendment, passed during the period known as Reconstruction, said a citizen could not be denied the vote because of race or color. In practice, many barriers kept Black men from voting for decades afterward, but the amendment set the legal principle.
Any of these answers works: “after the Civil War,” “the 15th Amendment,” or “1870.”
Why this is on the test
This 2025 question tracks a major step in expanding the vote, and it pairs with a later question about when women gained the right to vote.
How this question is asked
On the 2025 civics test, the officer asks up to 20 of the 128 questions out loud and you pass by answering 12 correctly. You answer in your own words. There is no multiple choice and nothing to write down for the civics portion.
Related questions
More from 1800s.
- 90 What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
- 91 Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
- 92 Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
- 93 The Civil War had many important events. Name one.
- 94 Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one.
- 95 What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?