Jurisprudence
June 04, 20264:54 PM
Vincenzo Livieri/Reuters
The authors of the Reconstruction Amendments did not trust the Supreme Court to ensure that Black Americans would be able to participate fully in the political life of the nation. That is why the amendments expressly gave Congress the power to enforce their provisions through additional legislation.
It took nearly a century, but as part of the Second Reconstruction, Congress fulfilled that responsibility. It enacted a Voting Rights Act that goes beyond merely restating the constitutional prohibitions contained in the first sections of the 14th and 15th amendments. The single most important contribution the court ever made to minority citizens’ voting rights was to uphold and apply those congressionally expanded prohibitions.
