Jonah Patel
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, ratified between 1865 and 1870, were three important steps towards protecting the rights of African Americans. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, but it did not address the questions of citizenship and equality for African Americans. The 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the law for African Americans, and the 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote. Despite these amendments, African Americans continued to face obstacles to fully participating in American democracy, such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and it was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that all remaining deterrents to exercising the right to vote were abolished.
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What You'll Learn
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States and its territories. It was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, marking the end of chattel slavery in the country. The Amendment states:
> "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."
The 13th Amendment was preceded by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which declared that "all persons held as slaves [...] shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." However, the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery nationwide as it only applied to areas of the Confederacy in rebellion and not to the "border states" loyal to the Union. Lincoln recognised that a constitutional amendment was necessary to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.
From late 1863 to early 1864, several members of Congress proposed their own versions of a new amendment to abolish slavery. The 13th Amendment was passed by the Senate in April 1864 but initially failed to pass the House. Lincoln, who became more forceful in his support for the Amendment, played a crucial role in its eventual passage. On February 1, 1865, he approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures.
The 13th Amendment not only abolished slavery but also restricted other forms of bound labour and servitude. It was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments, followed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, which greatly expanded the civil rights of Americans, including African Americans. While the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment addressed questions of citizenship and equal protection for newly freed African Americans. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited the denial or abridgement of the right to vote based on "race, colour, or previous condition of servitude."
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The 14th Amendment granted citizenship
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, was a significant step towards protecting the rights of African Americans. This amendment explicitly granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, regardless of race, thereby overturning the previous Dred Scott decision, which had denied citizenship to Black people.
The 14th Amendment's citizenship clause established the principle of birthright citizenship, ensuring that anyone born in the U.S. automatically became a citizen. This was a direct response to the Dred Scott v. Sanford case, where the Supreme Court ruled that Black people, whether free or enslaved, were not citizens but "a separate class of persons." The 14th Amendment's aim was to repeal this decision and affirm the citizenship of African Americans, granting them the same constitutional rights as all other American citizens.
The amendment also addressed issues of voting and representation in Congress. It amended the previous 3/5ths clause, stating that population counts would be based on the "whole number of persons" in a state, ensuring that all people were counted equally. Additionally, it protected the right to vote for all male citizens aged 21 and older, although further amendments were needed to fully ban voting restrictions based on race.
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 placed former Confederate states under military rule until they ratified the 14th Amendment and established new constitutions guaranteeing equal rights and protections for African Americans. These acts also granted Black men in southern states the right to vote and hold elected office, empowering them to participate in the political process.
While the 14th Amendment was a significant step forward, it did not fully protect the rights of Black citizens during the Reconstruction Era. African Americans continued to face discrimination and violence, and it would take further amendments and civil rights legislation to secure their equal rights under the law.
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The 14th Amendment also provided equal protection under the law
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, was a significant step towards protecting the rights of African Americans. One of its key provisions was the guarantee of equal protection under the law, ensuring that all citizens, regardless of race, would be treated equally and fairly by the government and the law. This amendment overturned the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford decision, which had declared that Black people, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens and had no claim to the rights of citizenship.
The text of the 14th Amendment 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." This meant that state governments were prohibited from enacting laws or policies that would discriminate against African Americans or deny them their fundamental rights. It also established birthright citizenship, ensuring that anyone born in the United States was automatically a citizen, regardless of race.
The 14th Amendment was a response to the inadequacies of the 13th Amendment, which had abolished slavery but left questions about the status of newly freed African Americans unanswered. The 14th Amendment addressed these issues by providing a clear definition of citizenship and guaranteeing that all citizens, including African Americans, were entitled to equal protection of their civil rights.
While the 14th Amendment was a significant step forward, it did not fully protect the rights of African Americans. For example, it did not explicitly address voting rights, which would later be addressed by the 15th Amendment. Additionally, despite the amendment's guarantees, African Americans continued to face discrimination and violence, and the struggle for equal rights remained ongoing.
The Reconstruction Acts, passed by Congress in 1867, furthered the protections afforded by the 14th Amendment. These acts placed former Confederate states under military rule until they ratified the amendment and established new constitutions guaranteeing equal rights and protections for African Americans. The Reconstruction Acts also granted Black men in southern states the right to vote and hold elected office, empowering them to participate in the political process and shape the future of their communities.
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The 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote
The 13th Amendment, ratified in December 1865, abolished slavery throughout the United States. However, it did not address the questions surrounding the status of newly freed African Americans. To resolve these issues, Congress passed the 14th Amendment, which defined citizenship, protected civil rights, and outlined the powers of the federal government. The 14th Amendment also included provisions relating to voting and representation in Congress, stating that population counts would be based on the "whole number of persons" in a state, and protecting the right to vote for all male citizens aged 21 or older.
The 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. The amendment states that "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." This was a significant milestone in the struggle for civil rights and was celebrated by African Americans and abolitionist societies as the nation's "second birth."
Despite the passage of the 15th Amendment, African Americans continued to face obstacles to exercising their right to vote. Local and state governments, particularly in the Southern states, found ways to weaken the amendment and prevent African Americans from voting through discriminatory practices and laws such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and "grandfather clauses." These became known as "Jim Crow" laws, which, along with intimidation and violence by groups like the Ku Klux Klan, effectively disenfranchised African Americans and reduced them to second-class citizenship.
It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, extended and enforced in subsequent years, that the majority of African Americans were truly able to register and vote in large numbers, marking a significant step forward in the ongoing struggle for equality and full participation in American public and civic life.
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The 15th Amendment was enforced by the Voting Rights Act of 1965
The 13th Amendment, ratified in December 1865, abolished slavery throughout the United States. However, it did little to address the status of newly freed African Americans, who were still denied equal citizenship status. To address this, Congress passed the 14th Amendment, which established birthright citizenship and guaranteed African Americans the same constitutional rights as all American citizens.
The 14th Amendment also included provisions relating to voting and representation in Congress, stating that all people would be counted equally and protecting the right to vote for all male citizens aged 21 and older. However, it did not explicitly ban voting restrictions based on race, and so the 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870 to address this issue. The 15th Amendment prohibits the federal government or any state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Despite the passage of the 15th Amendment, African Americans in the South continued to face significant obstacles to voting, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions. They also risked harassment, intimidation, and physical violence when attempting to register or vote. In response to these continuing discriminatory voting practices, President Lyndon B. Johnson urged Congress in 1965 to pass legislation "which will make it impossible to thwart the 15th Amendment."
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Johnson on August 6, 1965. The act outlawed discriminatory voting practices, including literacy tests and poll taxes, and provided for the appointment of federal examiners with the power to register qualified citizens to vote. It also required covered jurisdictions to obtain "preclearance" for any new voting practices and procedures. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new Black voters had been registered, and by the end of 1966, only four out of 13 southern states had fewer than 50% of African Americans registered to vote.
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Frequently asked questions
The 13th Amendment, ratified in December 1865, made slavery illegal throughout the United States.
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, redefined US citizenship and required the federal government to uphold individual rights and protect all its citizens. It extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people, granting them citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law. It also included provisions relating to voting and representation in Congress.
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited the federal government or any state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It granted African American men the right to vote and hold office.
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