The fourteenth amendment was formed, when the Civil War had just came to a finish, which defeated the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln, who was president at the time, had declared the slaves freed at the end of the war; but there were still a lot of questions concerning the former Confederates and what the status of slaves in the country would become. Congress shaped the Reconstruction Amendments which included the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the constitution. The thirteenth amendment was ratified in December of 1865 and put an end to slavery in the United States. This new law stated that slaves were no longer the property of the people, but the new law did not answer questions about the new rights that they were now definite. …show more content…
The fourteenth Amendment was also made to contribute anyone under the jurisdiction of the law the right to equality, also known as the Equal Protection Clause. The ultimate amendment in the Reconstruction era was the making of the fifteenth Amendment, meaning that it gave citizens the right to vote in spite of their race, prior slavery or color The main purpose of the fourteenth amendment was to guarantee that the Civil Rights Act that was approved in 1866 was advocated. Another significant aspect of this amendment alleged that states, including federal power as well, were required to stand by the Bill of Rights. This meant that both of these procedures were expected to abide by equal protection. The significance of the fourteenth amendment became a vital part of the Civil Rights Movement and the numerous lawsuits that referenced it during that time. As of today, the fourteenth amendment still stands as one of the greatest historically important building blocks to our country 's democracy. It remains to sustain our nation 's promise that everyone is created equally under the law regardless of race, gender, nationality or orientation. The meaning of the fourteenth amendment defined in the United States Constitution endures to be an effect on the history and growth of our prodigious
Eric Foner stated that the arching principles of the 14th Amendment are all people are entitled to "equal protection of the laws", state and federal citizenship for all, irrespective of race and origin, ensured "privileges and immunities” and the concept of the "due process of the law" (572). Through these principles, the 14th Amendment revolutionized the dynamics of freedom in the United States. Prior to the passage of the Amendment, former slaves were still not only considered to be lesser citizens by their former masters, but were also treated in a manner that reaffirmed this perspective (Foner 570). This mentality was rife among White Southerners, which is unsurprising considering that slavery is an institutionalized system that supported the South’s agrarian society and economy. The mindsets of White Northerners were markedly different to that of their Southern countrymen, largely because of the North’s inclination towards industrialization and globalization (Foner 561).
The 14th amendment completely rewrites the whole constitution and deems the slaves as full citizens of the United States. This amendment also undoes the ruling of the Dred Scott case which states that no black man has any rights that any white man should recognize. Even with this amendment being passed only two states explicitly allowed black men to vote, Tennessee and Iowa. Eventually because many white men began to find loop holes in letting the black men vote the 15th amendment was passed. The new 15th amendment states a list of reasons that a state cannot allow an individual to vote.
There 's been a lot of wishful thinking about the 14th Amendment and I also have to agree with you Derick, when you mentioned that you were not born here. I actually do share the same views and I am also a naturalized citizen which also give me the privilege to vote. In my beliefs the civil-rights law protecting racial minorities from discrimination and it is still illegal to discriminate against a person when voting. Furthermore, the Voting Rights Act has been the most effective piece of civil rights legislation. However,It is stated that the Constitution 's emphasis on place of birth is antiquated.
This amendment helped blacks economically because they could now sue whites for cheating them thanks to due process; however, as previously stated, most times if a black and a white were against each other in a trial, the white man would have the victory due to the prejudices of that time. Socially blacks were forbidden to serve on a jury thanks to the Black Codes being passed under Andrew Johnson’s racist presidency. The fourteenth amendment allowed blacks more freedom in the eyes of the government, but in local settings this tenement was not practiced fully, most of
The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was acquired on July 9th, 1868, as one of the three Reconstruction Amendments. The amendment discussed equal protection of the laws and citizenship rights. This new amendment was created in response to problems with former slaves that were freed after the American Civil War. The amendment puts a limit on the actions of all local and state officials. During the time of its creation, it did two major things, it made it to where all people born in the united states were citizens and it made it to where everyone is equally protected under the law.
The 14th amendment essentially grants citizenship to all people born in The United States. The law also states no person can be denied "equal protection of the laws. " In many states this law freed slaves. This changed because of the 14th amendment it allowed colored people to vote and voice their opinions.
The 15th amendment aimed to give more federal protection to former slaves. Specifically, this amendment gave all male citizens, including former slaves the right to vote. Next, this other civil rights act granted equal rights to whites and African Americans in all public locations. This was helpful to former slaves, because it made them feel respected. Except, it was not strictly
On July 9, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified to the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment was created to grant citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included the freeing of former slaves after the Civil War in 1865. It gave the former slaves their natural rights as citizens to the United States after the Dred Scott case, where they declared that black slaves were not people. Moreover, in Southern states the majority of them rejected this because they still wanted to keep their slaves, but later was required to be ratified by the three-fourths of the states. This is also known as the “Reconstruction Amendment,” meaning to forbid any states to deny any person of “life, liberty, or property without
With the beginning of reconstruction the amendment were created to abolish slavery, to give people born in America the right to be citizens and finally the allowance of men of to vote regardless of their race. With these amendments being put into place it cause a lot of kick back from the south and they didn’t agree at with these amendments being put into place. Although it took a while for these amendments to actually be followed it was a big door opener to slaves essentially giving them rights to be
One of reasons the confederacy failed was because the U.S. Congress, with Lincoln’s support, proposed the 13th amendment which would abolish slavery in America. Although the confederate peace delegation was unwilling to accept a future without slavery, the radical and moderate Republicans designed a way to takeover the reconstruction program. The Radical Republicans wanted full citizenship rights for African Americans and wanted to implement harsh reconstruction policies toward the south. The radical republican views made up the majority of the Congress and helped to pass the 14th amendment which guaranteed equality under the law for all citizens, and protected freedmen from presidential vetoes, southern state legislatures, and federal court decisions. In 1869, Congress passed the fifteenth amendment stating that no citizen can be denied the right to vote because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
Post Civil War, African Americans started to gain rights to gain rights, and soon gain rights equal to whites. While there were some people/things standing in their way (KKK, Black Codes), in the end they got what they needed; Equality. Many acts and laws were passed to aid the new rights now held by African Americans, as well as the numerous people willing to help. New Amendments were added to give African Americans rights after the war, all giving them some equal rights to whites. The first of the three added was the Thirteenth Amendment, it gave African Americans freedom from slave owners, and stated that no one could be kept as a slave in the U.S..
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) The amendments were put into place to protect the rights and civil liberties of all American citizens from the federal government. However, prior to the fourteenth amendment, there was no certainty with the constitution. The constitution did not state in a clear enough way who was protected under it and exactly what rights you had as an American Citizen. The 14th amendment was in response to the just passed thirteenth amendment, which ended slavery in all of the southern states.
The 14th amendment is just as important today as it was to the reconstruction era because it granted citizenship to former slaves and any person born on American soil, gave every citizen equal protection under the law, and it upholds the 13th amendment by stating that any U.S. State that does not abide by every citizen’s rights will be punished. The 14th amendment was passed on May 10th 1866. It is broken down into five sections. Section one gives anyone born or neutralized on American soil citizenship.
The 13th amendment was passed by the congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states on december 6, 1865. President Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” The Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation But it started to help abolishing slavery and making it and
The Civil War allowed the United States to make the changes necessary to unify the country. In addition, it began one of the most transitional periods in the United States’ history. This period, the Reconstruction, brought about many political, social, and economic changes, which were both beneficial and disagreeable. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the Panic of 1873, and the formation of the Ku Klux Klan are just a few examples of heavily impacting events for the United States. During the Reconstruction period there were numerous political transformations in the country.