The Constitution Of The American South After The Civil War

Amendments are put in place to make changes to the U.S. Constitution to adapt a regulation or expand on the rights of individuals and groups of people. Two amendments that play a significant role in the United States Constitution to this very day are the 13th and 14th amendments. These amendments are known as the reconstruction amendments because the documents were important in implementing the Reconstruction of the American South after the Civil War. Their advocates saw them as transforming the United States from a country that was half slave and half free to one in which the constitution guaranteed blessings of liberty which extended to the entire populace, including the former slaves and their descendants. The Thirteenth Amendment†¦show more content†¦A clause is a sentence in any part of our constitution. Firstly, is the citizenship Clause which gives individual born in the United States, but especially at that time, African Americans the right to citizenship. Secondly, the due process clause which protects the 1st amendment rights of the people and prevents those rights from being taken away by any government without due process. Due process is a trial by jury for all people accused of wrongdoing. Lastly, equal protection clause is the part of the fourteenth amendment which states that there may be no discrimination against people by the law. By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans. Another essential point, was President Abraham Lincoln s position on slavery, which is one of the central issues in American history. Lincoln often expressed disapproval towards slavery. When the American Civil War began in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln carefully outlined the conflict of the abolition of slavery. On September 22, soon after the Union victory at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland, Lincoln issued an introductory Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves â€Å"shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.† While the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave it was an important turning point in the war, transforming the fightShow MoreRelatedReconstruction and the Myth of the Lost Cause1511 Words   |  7 PagesAfter the Civil war, the Union was reestablished in racism. Reconstruction was the constitutional effort (13th, 14th, 15th amendment) of the north to force the south to treat the freed slaves as citizens. Re construction failed miserably. It is one of the least glorious parts of American history. Some nationalists like to think that there are no badly edifying chapters of America, and decide to forget about it. 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