Before the fifteenth amendment was passed, which states refused african-americans the right to vote?
a: northern states
b: southern states
c: some northern and southern states
d: all states

#1) Before the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, which states refused African-Americans the right to vote? 
The answer is C:some northern and southern states. Once approved by the required two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate, the 15th Amendment had to be ratified by 28, or three-fourths, of the states. Due to the reconstruction laws, black male suffrage already existed in 11 Southern states. Since almost all of these states were controlled by Republican reconstruction governments, they could be counted on to ratify the 15th Amendment. Supporters of the 15th Amendment needed only 17 of the remaining 26 Northern and Western states in order to succeed. At this time, just nine of these states allowed the black man to vote. The struggle for and against ratification hung on what blacks and other political interests would do.