The negro vote as an entering wedge in the solid south balance of power the negro vote by henry lee moon 256 pp new york doubleday co 3. With the ratification of the fifteenth amendment in 1870 the nation belatedly acknowledged the negros hard earned right to citizenship and the franchise the hopeful ex slave believed when first he came into possession of the highly prized ballot that his prayers had been realized and that he was on his way to the promised new freedom this was to be his great opportunity to assume new responsibilities and to enjoy new privileges the ballot was to be the key to a future of progress . Negroes now hold the political balance of power in americas five biggest cities these cities in turn dominate states that cast 156 electoral votes three fifths the number needed to elect a president the drama of this months national conventions will revolve in large part around the efforts of both major parties to convince american negroes that politically they do not stand trapped as one of their leaders has said between the known devil and the suspected witch whichever . Negro votes wielded the balance of power a study by the southern regional council assuming that 95 of the voting negroes voted democratic reveals the following voting patterns throughout the south negro vote totals are esti mates l in florida tennessee arkansas and virginia democrats could . The votes of nearly iooooo negroes in the north alone while many negroes voted for roosevelt professor arthur link states that wilson got more negro votes probably than any other demo cratic presidential candidate had ever received in any event it ap pears that influential negro leaders and a significant part of the