Reconstruction Era Amendments
Unit Overview
In this
unit, students will identify and explain the key provisions of the
Reconstruction Era Amendments. (CS#9).
Section A: Content Statement 9
The
constitutional amendments are known collectively as the Reconstruction Amendments extended new legal protections to African Americans, though the struggle
to achieve equality would continue fully.
Content
Elaboration
The new
constitutional protections extended under the Reconstruction Amendments
include:
• abolishing slavery;
• defining and extending citizenship to
all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.;
• prohibiting the states from denying due
process and equal protection of the law to all persons; and
• preventing the denial of voting
rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
These
amendments were initially designed to protect African Americans. However, they
did not result in immediate equality. Jim
Crow laws were enacted to enforce racial segregation until the mid-20th
century.
The application
of these protections has been extended to other groups.
Let’s Practice: Content Statement 9
Section B: Reconstruction Era
Amendment
Following
the Civil War, one of the most
significant issues facing the South was the fate of the former slaves. Southern state legislatures soon created "Black
Codes" that significantly limited the civil right and freedoms of
the freedmen (newly freed slaves).
Outraged by
these Black Codes, three amendments were proposed by the Radical Republicans in
Congress. Known as the Civil War
Amendments, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments abolished
slavery, provided citizenship to the freedmen, and guaranteed their right to
vote.
The first of
the Reconstruction Amendments, the 13th
Amendment, was passed by Congress on January 1st, 1865, and ratified by the
states on December 6, 1865. A successor to the Emancipation Proclamation, the
13th Amendment was the first constitutional amendment to be approved after the
end of the Civil War.
The 14th Amendment, ratified on July 28,
1868, was intended to cement the status of African Americans as full citizens
of the United States. Still, its vague language left it vulnerable to
segregationist lawmakers who undermined its original purpose over the next
century.
The 15th Amendment was the last
of the Reconstruction Amendments was ratified on February 3, 1870. The Amendment provided voting rights to
African American men.
Reconstruction was a time
of great promise and progress for African Americans. With the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments in
place, and the support of Radical Republicans in Congress, African Americans
gained the right to vote, were elected to public offices, sat on juries, acquired
land, established churches, married, sought employment and education, and
enjoyed access to public accommodations.
These gains,
however, were short-lived. Southern
Democrats, afraid of losing political power to African Americans, made
every effort to roll back the progress made during Reconstruction. Through
racist propaganda, intimidation, violence, and legislation, a system of
segregation and second-class citizenship for African Americans emerged—Jim Crow
laws.
Although Jim Crow segregation retracted the
promises of Reconstruction, African Americans never stopped fighting for the
rights guaranteed by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
Let’s Practice: Reconstruction Quiz
Section C: Amendments 13, 14, and 15
The Thirteenth Amendment 1865
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for the crime of which the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation has been
called a hollow document since it "freed no slaves." The Proclamation
only freed persons held as slaves in rebelling states. Lincoln realized that as President, he had no
legal grounds to end the institution of slavery single-handedly. The President and the Radical Republicans in
Congress also realized that the Emancipation Proclamation could be viewed as
temporary, and might be ignored after the Civil War came to an end.
Lincoln
recognized that the Emancipation Proclamation needed to be followed by a
constitutional amendment to guarantee the abolition of slavery. Passed in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the nation,
confirming the intent of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Fourteenth Amendment 1868
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the
State wherein they reside. No State
shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities
of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any persons of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Although the
Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, it failed to give slaves equal
protection under the law. The Supreme
Court had ruled in the Dred Scott Case (1857) that slaves
were not citizens but property. After
the Civil War ended, many Southern states set about denying the freed slaves
their civil rights.
The Radical
Republican Congress passed the Civil Rights Act (1866) in response
to the Black Codes and quickly proposed its significant terms as a
Constitutional amendment.
The Fourteenth
Amendment was passed in 1868. It
had three relevant clauses in it, each of which is still important today.
The Citizenship Clause
The 14th
Amendment granted U.S. citizenship to all former slaves. Before this Amendment, African Americans were
barred from becoming citizens. This
clause was a direct response to the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred
Scott Case, which sought to deny full citizenship to African Americans.
The Due Process Clause
The 14th
Amendment also said that states must provide all citizens with "due
process of law." This clause protects the rights found in the First
Amendment and prevents those rights from being taken away by any government
without "due process" – a trial by a jury for all people who are
accused of wrongdoing.
The "Equal Protection" Clause
The "equal
protection clause" extended the protection found in the Bill of Rights to
state governments. This clause implied
that no state has the right to deny anyone within its border the "equal
protection of the laws."
The Fifteenth Amendment 1870
"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 Fifteenth Amendment was the last of the
Civil War Amendments to be ratified. It
was designed to close the previous method used by white Southern leaders to
deny civil rights to newly-freed, former slaves.
Although the
Fourteenth Amendment made freedmen citizens, it was not until ratification of
the Fifteenth Amendment that the right to vote was guaranteed. Women reformers, however, we're disappointed
that Amendment gave voting rights to male freedmen but not to women. Native Americans Indians also did not receive
additional rights under these amendments.
Below is a
chart of the Historical Roots of the Reconstruction Amendments.
|
Amendment |
Rights |
Historic Roots |
|
13th
Abolition
of Slavery |
· Slavery is illegal |
The end of the Civil War saw a series of three amendments
designed to grant greater equality to former slaves |
|
14th
Equal
Protection Under the Law |
· Declares that all citizens are guaranteed equal treatment and
protection under the law · Bars former Confederates from holding office · Declares Confederate debt null and void |
This has proven one of the most significant amendments outside
the Bill of Rights. Equal protection is the basis for all modern civil rights
laws, disability acts, and other actions designed to protect minority rights. |
|
15th
Right
to Vote |
· Insures black males the right to vote |
Despite this Amendment, poll taxes and literacy tests would
attempt to deny black males voting rights in the southern states for nearly
100 years. |
Let’s Practice: Drag and Drop Amendments