Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, providing that 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.” The provision was intended to buttress the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed equal protection under the law and due process of law to all citizens. Though ultimately a boon to African American men, the amendments were a bitter blow to women’s rights advocates; both measures...