In 1865 the civil war ended, nearly four million African American slaves were disoriented of what will become of them, they wanted their freedom. However, they faced difficulties integrating into American society where everyone was equal. They faced all kinds of racism, low paying jobs in which the conditions they had to work where dangerous, and to make it worst they still weren’t free as white where, but they had hope for change. Congress thought time added three amendments to the constitution, the 13th, 14th, and 15th. The three amendments provided African Americans, civil rights, citizenships and the right to vote. In this essay, I will discuss what where these amendments, how each amendment promoted or prevented personal freedoms, equality and respect for human dignity.
During the reconstruction the United States made its first attempt to build an equal society on the aches of slavery. On February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was president “approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures. (Christian G. Samit). The passing of the 13th Amendment was one of the most influential Amendments passed in the United States to ended slavery, however African Americans still did not have the same rights as white Americans did. In Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States. The 13 amendments stated:
“Section 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” (Foner,2020, page, xiv).
The 13th Amendment did not end slavery Although, it is the first time the word “slavery” was ever mentioned in the Constitution yet, 13 amendments did not abolish it. Though, the 13th amendment took some authority away from the States, so that no state could institute slavery, and it attempted to legal grant the natural right of liberty of African American. To make it difficult a series of laws called the Black Codes were passed by the former south States. After the civil war, newly freed slaves faced many challenges. The whites in the South did not like the idea of African American being inferior than them and those black codes written gave them advantages towards African American. The black codes were one of many obstacles the freed slaves had to overcome. These laws were passed in the southern states to restricting African Americans freedom from doing things that ranged from making or selling, and coming into a state without posting bond for good behavior. Also, after the 13th amendment was passed, there was a severe shortage of workers on plantations and the white southerner were not happy about it so to ensure that the wealthy southern landowners would have a cheap and steady workforce they needed, because some of the codes forced African Americans to sign contracts that required them to work for meager wages. The black codes helped regain control and inhibit the freedoms over the freed slaves, prevent black uprisings, ensure the continued and steady supply of cheap labor, and maintain segregation and white supremacy. (Foner,47-49). The 13 amendments did not give them a total freedom to former slaves, nor they did not have any rights as freeman had in the United States. The black codes forced congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14th amendment because African American kept on fighting to be get their freedom and to let them be in the society.
African America, still had hope for change with the Fourteenth Amendments. In July 28, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution. It gave a new sense of hope and inspiration to a once oppressed people. The fourteen Amendment had five sections, 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 person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. It was designed to protect the newly freed slaves. However, it only helped the white race yet again. The Fourteenth Amendment was placed into effect to protect the rights of the black community after emancipation. Once slaved they still were not citizen of the United States so, when the fourteenth amendment was passed it fixes the statues of all blacks and slaved. It stated that, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” would be supported under the doctrine. (Foner, 76). When a person becomes citizen to a country, they will have the right to vote eventually. Voting was a major controversy for the newly freed slaves, they wanted the chance to be heard through politics. Nevertheless, they were still denied the simple right to vote in many of the states if they could not meet the prerequisites for example slaves did not have the right to have education when they were slave, so they could not write or read. It did not help because they will get trick by the whites. For example, if the whites made contracts to work for them, just as if they were slaves and nothing changed. Black people were still waiting for their rescue under this new Amendment, but were unable to grasp it through the government. In the case Dred Scott v. Sanford, proof the battle African American had to fight to be able to have the right of citizenship in a country they were born or brought as slave. Dred Scott, born into slavery, argued that he should be granted freedom from the family that claimed ownership over him because he had lived in free states and thus had become a citizen of the United States before returning to Missouri, a state where slavery was sanctioned. (Vander Velde, Lea, 2012). The Fourteenth amendment, was the start of a movement to fight towards equality and citizenship.
The right to vote was the next radical movement that help African American for equality. The Fifteenth Amendment, was accepted on February 26, 1869, it was the third in the Reconstruction Amendments which was approved after the Civil War. This particular amendment prohibits any government entity within the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based upon the person’s race, color, or once slaved. The 15th amendment stated the right to vote has been one of the most fought-for, rights of the United States Constitution. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the use of race in determining which citizens can vote and how they do so. Hoping the fiththeen adments will bring an end to racism and inequality. An example is of a new organization,Jim Crow laws were enforced by election boards or by groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, who intimidated African Americans with violence if they voted or wished to do so. The southern region of the United States made little or no effort to protect the voting rights of African Americans guaranteed by the Constitution. Add more about the clan (eric forner). Author Eric Foner said of the 15th Amendment. “But the history of the 15th Amendment also shows rights can never be taken for granted: Things can be achieved and things can be taken away.
In conclusion, the Reconstruction era encountered both triumph and tragedy from 1865-1877. Racism and slavery are problems that influenced decisions made by Congress during the era. Learning about the Reconstruction is important because racial problems are still occurring today. The Civil Rights Movement that occurred from 1954-1968, a whole century later than the Reconstruction, shows how African Americans are still fighting for rights (‘Historical South Carolina Newspapers, 2015). If it was not for a suggested solution from racism and slavery in the 16th century then the world would not be able to live in peace as people do today.
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Work Cited
Baker, Bruce E., and Brian Kelly. After Slavery: Race, Labor, and Citizenship in the Reconstruction South. University Press of Florida, 2013. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=618961&site=ehost-live.
Christian G. Samito. Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment. Southern Illinois University Press, 2015. EBSCOhost, https://draweb.njcu.edu:2075/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1060559&site=ehost-live.
Equal Justice Initiative. “THE DANGER OF FREEDOM.” RECONSTRUCTION IN AMERICA: Racial Violence after the Civil War, 1865-1876, Equal Justice Initiative, 2020, pp. 56–81, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep30690.7.
Foner, Eric. The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution. W.W. Norton Et Company, 2020.
Jervis, Rick. “15th Amendment Paved Way for Black Voting Rights.” Usa Today, Feb 03 2020, ProQuest. Web. 25 Apr. 2022 .
Reilly, Elizabeth. Infinite Hope and Finite Disappointment: The Story of the First Interpreters of the Fourteenth Amendment. University of Akron Press, 2011. EBSCOhost, https://draweb.njcu.edu:2051/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=686383&site=ehost-live.
Vander Velde, Lea. “Another Anniversary for the Overlooked Mrs. Dred Scott.” Christian Science Monitor, 6 Apr. 2012, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, https://draweb.njcu.edu:2075/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=74087220&site=ehost-live.