The 15th Amendment helped a political party gain power in the South. Which party?

• A. Democratic Party
• B. Republican Party
• C. Whig Party
• D. Federalist Party

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how voting rights change political power. The 15th Amendment, ratified during Reconstruction, barred denying the right to vote because of race, color, or a former condition of slavery. That opened the door for many newly enfranchised Black men in the South to participate in elections. Because Republicans supported emancipation and Reconstruction, these new voters helped Republicans win elections and control state governments in the South for a period. The Whig and Federalist parties were gone by then, and the Democratic Party did not gain power in the South from this expansion of Black suffrage during Reconstruction. So, the party that gained power in the South because of the 15th Amendment is the Republican Party.