For this assignment, please research and write about the Reconstruction Amendments.  What can you say the impact of those amendments were on American society at large? How was society affected by the passage of those amendments and what would you say was the effectiveness in creating an "equal' society?

 

The Reconstruction Amendments

The reconstruction amendments welcomed ramifications to the newly freedmen as well as the country as a whole. According to United States Senate (Par. 1), the reconstruction amendments are the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. There was resistance and lack of support for the changes, especially from the Southerners benefiting from the slaves' free labor. The 13th amendment was passed in congress on January 31st 1865, but the formal ratification took place on December 6th. The amendment is popularly acknowledged as the one that abolished slavery in the United States. The amendment discouraged slavery except to those convicted, and it was applied as a form of punishment. The 14th amendment was ratified in 1868 on July 28th. The amendment focused on citizenship, and it was responsible for overturning the Dred Scott decision that no black person in the US could claim citizenship and therefore had no right to sue or petition in a court. The 14th amendment defined former slaves as citizens of the US, and consequently, they were to be given equal protection under the law. The 15th amendment granted black men the right to vote. The amendment was passed in 1869 and formally ratified on February 3rd 1870.

The reconstruction amendments were aimed at the betterment of the lives of black people in the US. However, the struggle to fully realize the goals of the reconstruction amendments is still ongoing. Changes took place, especially in the southern United States, but they were leaning towards undermining the blacks by putting them in conditions that were barely an improvement from slavery. Former slaves did not have the right to own land, and therefore, the land still belonged to the former "masters", and blacks worked for them for shelter and a small percentage of the harvest (CrashCourse, 2.14). The reconstruction has been termed a failure, although the three amendments attained the three aimed objectives. Blacks were still suffering violence under the hands of white supremacy and were subject to segregation laws in the south (Formation of terrorist groups to intimidate African Americans was experienced following the reconstruction amendments ratification. According to (Patterson), these groups used violence and racial tactics to dehumanize black legislators and voters. Still, all they succeeded in was to illuminate African Americans accomplishments under pressure and threats.

Following the reconstruction, African Americans got a chance to enjoy some of the rights which formerly only whites did. There rose African American politicians, such as Hiram Rhodes Revels in 1870, who represented Mississippi and was the first African American senator. Though there were threats and intimidation, as mentioned above, there was a new light that finally the African Americans could participate in politics. Reconstruction amendments laid the foundation of the civil rights war that followed and many other achievements of African Americans in society. For example, the voting rights of women, which were granted in 1920 (Patterson). Education was embraced quickly after the abolishment of slavery. Many African Americans enjoyed what was formerly a dream to them. High schools and colleges for blacks began operating, and black people were taught and prepared for both white-collar and blue-collar fields. The black people got to experience a different America altogether, although there are still struggles to achieve an equal society even today.

Introduction

The 15th amendment granted black men the right to vote. The amendment was passed in 1869 and formally ratified on February 3rd 1870

Paragraph 1

• The reconstruction amendments welcomed ramifications to the newly freedmen as well as the country as a whole
• According to United States Senate (Par. 1), the reconstruction amendments are the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments

Paragraph 2

• • • The reconstruction amendments were aimed at the betterment of the lives of black people in the US
    • However, the struggle to fully realize the goals of the reconstruction amendments is still ongoing

Paragraph 3

• Following the reconstruction, African Americans got a chance to enjoy some of the rights which formerly only whites did
•  There rose African American politicians, such as Hiram Rhodes Revels in 1870, who represented Mississippi and was the first African American senator