Primarily, The Thirteenth Amendment, 1865 abolished slavery and
involuntary servitude. It completed the task of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Fourteenth
Amendment, 1868 made the former slaves citizens. It provided for equal protection of the laws for
all citizens. The Fifteenth Amendment, 1870 provided the right to vote for Black males. This
itself brought political and economic equality to the former slaves. But the point is even though
slavery was abolished, the treatment, the attitude towards them, African Americans didn’t
change.
South formed the Black codes. Under these codes blacks
didn’t not have the right to bear arms, be involved in any jobs other than farming. The south was
a society where they couldn’t live without slaves. Slaves were a major labor source. For it to be
take out, it would cause chaos. This is what exactly happened. The effectiveness of these
constitutional amendments were hindered by these unnecessary rules imposed by the south. These
often slowed down reconstruction. In addition, the KKK were groups that opposed Black having the
right to vote. The weakness and hindrance is shown in the Supreme Court case United States v.
Reese. It was a case in 1876 in which the Supreme Court upheld practices as the poll tax, the
literacy test, and the Grandfather Clause. This case definitely helped undermine African American
and their rights stated in the 15th Amendment. Sharecropper was another factor that was evolved
from Reconstruction that put many African Americans in debt!
On the
other hand, many rights and acts were passed to support the constitutional amendments. Freedmen’s
Bureau, which was established in March of 1865 to care for refugees. Carpetbaggers went to the
South to oppose the practice of slavery and they went to check on how the black were being
treated. Civil Rights act of 1866 declared black as citizens of the United States, this
strengthened the 13th Amendment.
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