13th Amendment Definition

On a date that will be remembered forever as a step forward for our nation, July 28, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment gave a new sense of hope and inspiration to a once oppressed people. It was conceived to be the foundation for restoring America to its great status and prosperity. The Amendment allowed “equal protection under the law”, no matter what race, religion, sex, sexual preference or social status. It was designed to protect the newly freed slaves. However, it only helped the white race.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is commonly regarded as a major victory against racism that further advanced democracy in America. Adopted on July 9, 1868, it attempted to transform the oppressive culture of the Confederacy by granting citizenship rights to all people born or naturalized in the United States and affording equal protection under the law to all U.S. citizens. Nonetheless, in spite of aiming to put an end to discrimination against African-Americans and other minority groups, this important amendment did not entirely succeed in eradicating racism during the Reconstruction era.

At the time the fourteenth Amendment was made, The Civil War had recently arrived at an end, beating the Confederacy. Acting president,Abraham Lincoln, had proclaimed the slaves liberated toward the end of the war; but, there were still a great deal of waiting inquiries with respect to the previous Confederates and the status of slaves in the nation. The Amendment was made to give people below the jurisdiction of the statute the privilege to fairness. This was known as the Equal Protection Clause. At this time, the purpose behind the fourteenth Amendment is to guarantee that the Civil Rights Act was maintained. On the other hand, taking after the selection of the fourteenth Amendment, Supreme Court choices started putting limitations on the

The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.The 14th Amendment provides the citizenship, due process and equal protection clauses. The 13th amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865. It was preceded by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which freed all slaves from the Confederate states during the Civil War. Most of these states were in the South below the Mason-Dixon line.The 14th Amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868, and it is the longest of all the Reconstruction Amendments, having five separate sections. The amendment also covers citizen's' right to hold public office, suffrage, compensation for emancipation and debts of war.

To make sure that slavery stayed abolished, Amendments had to be passed in order for slaves to be safe and treated fairly. The northern government wanted to get rid of slavery once in for all, but the southern government did not. The northern government passed amendments to keep the slaves free and safe. For example, in lesson 3, document B, it talks about three main Amendments passed to give slaves rights. Amendment 13 was the first one mentioned and it says “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, (except as a punishment for crime,) shall exist in the United States.” This meaning that no one can be forced to work without pay or mistreatment. Amendment 14 was mentioned second and it states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States. No State can enforce any law that limits privileges or rights of citizens of the United States nor shall any State deprive any person of life, Liberty or property.” Meaning that everyone in the United States is equal to one another and no one can be treated lesser than anyone, by law. The last Amendment talked

Following the civil war Congress passed three amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in January 31, 1865. This states that no form of slavery should exist within the United States. Followed by the Fourteenth Amendment which was passed on June 13, 1866; that states that anyone born or naturalized in the United States cannot be denied life, liberty, and property without due process of law. Nor be denied equal protection of the law. Then the Fifteenth Amendment was passed on February 26, 1869 stating that any citizen of the United States regardless of your race should not be

During the reconstruction a the 14th Amendment was passed, it protected the rights of the freedmen. Document A states, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge [take away] the privileges or immunities of all citizens of the United States.” This was to protect the rights of the citizens of the United States’ rights and to avoid discrimination. This protects the citizens from the state government. Aslo in Document A it states, “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This segment states that all the citizens must have equal treatment from the government. These laws are still used today and are brought up in courts all over America.

The 14th Amendment was ratified July 9, 1868 giving citizenship to all persons including former slaves. Any state that went against the constitution was punished, reducing their representation in Congress. The Amendment banned those who engaged in rebellion against the States from holding any civil, military or elected office without approval of two-thirds of the Senate and the House of Representatives. This Amendment didn’t authorize any former Confederate States from repaying war debts and reimburse former slave owners for freeing slaves. This became very inconvenient for former slaves owners considering that Slaves did majority or all the work on a plantation, which later became a major problem.

The Thirteenth Amendment of 1865 abolished slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment of 1868 granted African Americans citizenship and equal protection under the law, and the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 granted African Americans the right to vote. These amendments were passed in an effort to combat racism and reshape public perception of blacks, however, these laws were hard to enforce and Southern states developed their own laws like the Black Codes to control the newly freed slaves. Jim Crow-era laws in the South like the poll tax and literacy tests prevented many blacks in the South from voting. Anyone who tried to break Southern traditions was subject to violence and intimidation from the Ku Klux Klan.

Argument found in 13th: 13th states a problem about our 13th amendment claiming that everyone is free to their freedom but in all reality African Americans are still being targeted and put in prisons and treated like slaves for no reason.

All southern states that had been parts of the Confederacy were demanded to admit this amendment before reentering to the Union. This amendment ensured that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude would exist in the United States. The 14th amendment was passed in 1866 and ratified in 1868. This amendment addressed citizenship rights to all people who were born in America. It recognized the citizenship for African American born here even though their origin was former slaves.

“The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were put into the Constitution to give equality to African Americans.”(Reconstruction Amendments, n.d.) Each Amendment came after each other for different reasons: 13th Amendment was made to abolish slavery, 14th Amendment stated that everyone born in the United States is a U.S citizen, and no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due of process, and equal rights to all people, and the 15th Amendment prevents the denial of a citizen’s vote by race, color, or slavery. The amendments took place during Reconstruction(1866-1877). “This occurred after the North defeated the South in the Civil War to bring the country back together.”(Reconstruction (1866-1877), n.d.) There was debate about how much should the South be punished for leaving the North. The Reconstruction Amendments were there to fix the issue. The Reconstruction Amendments are the most important amendments because they are there to fix the problems involving the North and the South, give equal rights to African Americans, and has a lot to offer in terms of rights.

In 1867, Congress passed a new Reconstruction Act, that threw out the state governments of states that refused to ratify the 14th amendment. The 15th amendment was ratified in 1870, providing a constitutional guarantee of voting rights for African American males.

The specific part of the Constitution that was involved was the Thirteenth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment. These two amendments held great power but unfortunately did not overpower the law. As a result of the Thirteenth Amendment, discrimination done in public areas had no relevance to the prohibition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was established to prohibit slavery to people; however, it did not apply to these cases. These actions were due to the acts of discrimination of private businesses and their own doings. In Constitutional Law: Principles and Practice Hames & Ekern states, “Parties in the Civil Rights Cases also argued that the Thirteenth Amendment authorized Congress to enact the law in question. Plaintiffs argued that

Today we examine one of the most influential days in our recent history and how it has translated into the modern day. On December 6th, 1865, enough states ratified the 13th amendment, therefore ending slavery and unpaid labor in the United States forever! This ratification constitutionally ends slavery. However, since then, not everything is going the way we assumed it would. African-Americans are still fighting for their rights, and many ex-slaves are demanding land from former owners, but the white South are often hesitant to apply, while some don’t even bother looking into the idea. Somethings have changed but most is still the same. Black people are still working on white owned farms, they are not treated like property anymore though.