Field,  Cyrus  West,- was  bom  at  Stockbridge,
Mass.,  Nov.  13, 1819 ;  went  to  New  York  in  1835 ;
and  became  an  enterprising  and  prosperous  mer-
'  chant.  Mr.'Field^is  universally  known  and  hon-
ored as  the,  chief  ibnnder  of  the  practical  system
ofsubn^arine  telegraphy.  (Se.e.^(I<int>c  Telegraph.)


FIFTEENTH  AMENDMENT


476


FILLMOEE


Fifteenth  Amendment  Od  Feb.  26,  18C9,
Congress  adopted  a  joiDt-resolntion  recommeud-
ing  the  following  as  a  fifteenth  amendment  to
the  National  Coustitution :  "  Article  XV.,  See-
tion  1.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States
tfl  vot-e  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the
United  States,  or  by  any  state,  on  account  of
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  serritude.
Section  2.  The  Congress,  by  appropriate  legisla-
tion, may  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  article."
This  amendment  was  soon  ratified  by  the  req-
uisite number  of  states.
