Historedia
Episode 1 of 1

First Vote Under 15th Amendment

When
March 31, 1870
Where
Perth Amboy City Hall
Part of
Thomas Mundy Peterson first African American to vote

Thomas Mundy Peterson cast a ballot in Perth Amboy on March 31, 1870, recognized as the first African American to vote under the 15th Amendment.

The vote occurred in a local election to update the city charter at Perth Amboy City Hall. The 15th Amendment had been ratified in February but officially certified on March 30, making Peterson's vote the first under these specific provisions.

Sources

  1. Perth Amboy, New Jersey Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06
  2. Thomas Mundy Peterson Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-07

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.