Civil War Amendments 13 th, 14 th & 15 th Amendments

Civil War Amendments To carry out their program to help African- Americans the Radical Republicans added three amendments to the United States Constitution. These three amendments, known as the “Civil War Amendments”, were a major political result of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

To amend something is to make a change in something to make it better or more up-to-date. Basically, you are trying to improve. An Amendment is an addition or change to the US Constitution.

Thirteenth Amendment The Thirteenth Amendment permanently abolished (ended) African-American slavery in the United States. The House of Representatives on January 31, 1865, as it voted for the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery. Proposed early in 1865 as the Civil War was winding down, it was ratified by three-fourths of the states on December 18, 1865, removing any lingering doubt about the legality of emancipation. President Andrew Johnson, who had succeeded Lincoln as president, reluctantly agreed to include ratification of this amendment as a requirement for readmission of the former Confederate states to the Union as part of his reconstruction plan.

I issue the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863 using my war powers as commander-in- chief. I believe that freeing the slaves will help win the war, and that the Constitution gives me all the authority I need to issue that order. I also believe that once enslaved people taste freedom they can never be made slaves again, but what about the courts and Congress? When the war is over, will they see it that way? Might they overturn my emancipation policy, saying it was merely a wartime measure that now lacks legal force? What should I do?

Lincoln’s Dilemma Rely on the States The Northern public remains bitterly divided over emancipation, but there has been some progress. Maryland and Missouri are rewriting their state constitutions to abolish slavery. Loyal Border States that have refused to do so - such as Kentucky and Delaware - might yet follow suit. Best not to push too hard for a federal emancipation amendment and risk jeopardizing all this momentum for change. Support an Amendment I can no longer leave the abolition of slavery to the states. Although the Constitution hasn’t been amended in 60 years and despite the ongoing war, the only just solution is to add an emancipation amendment to the Constitution that will abolish slavery everywhere and forever in the United States.

Library of Congress 13 th Amendment January 31, 1865 “The final announcement of the vote was the sequel for a whirlwind of applause wholly unprecedented in Congressional annals,” reported the Chicago Tribune. “The galleries led off, giving cheer after cheer. The members on the floor then joined in the shouting, throwing up their hats and clapping their hands.”

FREEDOM…

Library of Congress 14 th Amendment July 9, 1868

How did different states react to the 13 th Amendment? At the time that the 13 th Amendment was adopted, there were only 36 states in the United States. 27 of those states approved the 13 th Amendment within a year of it being proposed. The 13 th Amendment only needed ratification from the state legislatures of three quarters of the states to be adopted. So even though some states rejected the 13 th Amendment in 1865, it was still adopted. The very last state to officially ratify the 13 th Amendment was Mississippi, who did not ratify it until 1995, 130 years after it was proposed! The 13 th Amendment in 1865 officially ended slavery. Brazil was the last territory in the Americas to Abolish Slavery in 1888.

Granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States. This gave most African Americans citizenship. Guaranteed equal protection of the laws. Declared that no state could “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

The 14 th Amendment Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of 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 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.

Fourteenth Amendment In other words, the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited the states from denying any American equal rights under the law. The Fourteenth Amendment granted American citizenship to all African- Americans and said no state could “deny…any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” A New York City African-American parade in support of the 15th Amendment, April 1870.

Library of Congress 15 th Amendment February 3, 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."

Forbade any state to deny African Americans the right to vote because of their race.

Freedom from Slavery During the Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in the states in open rebellion only. Following the Civil War, during Reconstruction, several amendments and acts were added to the U.S. Constitution. 13 th Amendment in 1865 – outlaws slavery. Civil Rights Act of 1866 – tried to give citizenship to all native-born Americans. 14 th Amendment in 1868 – grants African Americans equal protection under the law. 15 th Amendment in 1870– grants African American males the right to vote. Civil Rights Act of 1875 – grants equal access to public accommodations. Freedmens Bureau – A federal bureau organized to help freed slaves adjust to their new lives. Ku Klux Klan – is founded in Tennessee, but spreads across the south in reaction to Radical Republican control. Image courtesy of Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Failure of Civil War Amendments Executive Branch did not enforce them Congress passed civil rights laws, but President refused to enforce Withdrew federal troops from South in 1877 Southern states passed “black codes” to prevent blacks from gaining power or equality Former slaves and free blacks were not treated equally for another 100 years

The Civil War Amendments 13 TH AMENDMENT (1865) “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime.…shall exist within the United States” “ 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.” 14 TH AMENDMENT (1868) 15 TH AMENDMENT (1870) “All persons born or naturalized in the United States…are citizens of the United States….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 the law; nor deny to any person...the equal protection of the laws.”

Civil War Amendments 13 th Amendment (1865): Bans slavery in the United States 14 th Amendment (1868): Grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in US. Also, government cannot deny anyone equal protection of the law. 15 th Amendment (1870): The right to vote shall not be denied based on race.