Constitutional Amendments
The 13th amendment’s ratification was a milestone for the United States, permanently abolishing slavery in the United States and freeing four million Blacks (nearly one-third of the South’s population) from bondage.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution are sometimes known as the “Reconstruction Amendments.” These were critical to providing African Americans with the rights and protections of U.S. citizenship.
The 14th Amendment established that anyone born in the United States, even if they are African Americans, are counted as equal citizens of the United States. This amendment overturned the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford case in which Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney had written that black Americans were not citizens and thus had “no rights which the white man was bound to respect.”
The 15th Amendment gave anyone over 21, including African American men, the right to vote.
Key Point
Together these three amendments ensured that Blacks who may have formerly been enslaved were given rights and freedoms that all people in America deserve to have. These amendments did not end prejudice in our country, but they were a good start towards equal opportunities in America for all citizens.
