"the right of citizens of the United States to vote"--and that
word "vote" is material there--"the right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State." Note what follows: "On account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude." The right of a
citizen of the United States in the first place to vote shall not
be abridged on account of three considerations, to-wit: race,
color, or previous condition of servitude. Why was it limited to
those three causes? Manifestly because the framers of this
article saw that Congress had the power to abridge the rights of
the colored race--indeed, any race--in the matter of voting and
in the matter of holding office as well. Can it be contended that
the United States would not have the power to-day to provide that
a negro or an Indian or a Chinese or a Mongolian, if naturalized,
and a citizen, should not hold office under the United States
Government? It is plain they would have such power. But they can
not act upon the ground of race, color, or previous condition as
to the matter of voting, and the restriction is to that alone.
This clause provides expressly that as to voting the right of no
human being shall be abridged because of his race, or his color,
or his previous condition of servitude, but such right may be
abridged for any other cause or consideration. This amendment did
not impose a restriction simply on the power of the United
States. In order to protect the colored race in the Southern
States, and indeed I may say throughout the whole Union, this
provision embraces the States as well as the United States, and
provides that the States shall not have power to abridge the
right to vote on any one of three accounts--race, color, or
previous condition of servitude. But that does not imply that the
States shall not have the power to abridge this right for other
causes. Each State has the power to-day to abridge the right to
vote because a man can not read, because he can not write, or for
any similar cause. The States have power to provide that a man
shall not be allowed to hold office or to vote because he can not
read or because he can not write, or for any cause whatever. That
is not only so according to the plain construction to