Compare And Contrast The 16th Amendment And The 13th Amendment

During 1866 in the South white southerners reestablished civil authority in the former Confederate states by restricting freed blacks’ activity and ensured their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished. For instance, labor contracts, if fragment they would be arrested as vagrants and fined or forced into unpaid labor or flogged also known as whipping. Congress found a way to blockade Black codes such as the Reconstruction Act of 1867 that required the 14th and 15th Amendment. The 14th Amendment granted equal protection of the Constitution to former slaves and enact universal male suffrage before they could rejoin the Union. The 15th Amendment guaranteed that a citizen’s right to vote would not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This is one of the most famous and major accomplishments that occurred during the Reconstruction

The Fifteenth Amendment gave black males over the age of 21 the right to vote. However, southern states set up poll taxes and literacy test in order to keep most blacks from voting. In order to keep the white votes they set up the grandfather clause, which allowed the seventy-five percent of the poor illiterate white people to still vote if they were the son or grandson of someone who was eligible to vote before 1867.

The amendment prevented voting restrictions due to race. Hiram Revels, a black senator, became the first out of sixteen blacks to be elected to Congress. This portion of Reconstruction succeeded for the most part, but something had to be done to stop the South from disobeying the laws.

The fifteenth amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870, and it's contents stated, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The amendment was one of the first major steps in ensuring racial equality throughout the United States. If a male former slave was someone who was just a slave ten years prior, was now able to vote to represent himself and his best interests. The 15th amendment was actually passed by different portions of the government on different dates. For instance, on February 25, 1869, the House of Representatives voted one hundred forty four in favor against forty four who opposed it. Meanwhile, in February 26, 1869, the Senate voted thirty-nine in favor against thirteen who opposed. And it’s

Congress passes the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which divided the South into districts and required Southern states to approve the 14th Amendment to grant blacks citizenship, before rejoining the Union. Later, congress gives African Americans the right to vote by ratifying the 15th Amendment. The Reconstruction established the South’s first state-funded public school systems, created a just taxation legislation, and passed laws against discrimination and economic development programs. The approach of Congress was different than Johnson’s plan, because they worked to improve the lives of African Americans by passing laws in their favor, and expanding their rights. Congress did not care what the South wanted, and expected the South to abide by their rules. On the other hand, Johnson wanted to preserve the nation, and did not want to do anything to anger the South. Moreover, he was a strong believer in states rights, and the idea that the federal government had no right to enforce restrictive laws on the entire country.

The Fifteenth Amendment granted black men to vote. Put emphasis on men because at this time women still couldn't vote.This amendment would not be fully followed until almost a century. What the government did was that they made a literacy test so difficult that no slave could pass because they had no education. So no blacks could vote really for a long time. So to loop their loophole that made a rule called the Grandfather Clause. This made if your grandfather could vote you did not have to take the literacy test. So every white person's grandfather could vote since they lived in england. So this rule did not apply to blacks since their grandfathers were black and could not vote. One of the main reasons that they made this rule is because

However, due to the racism in the country during this period, this amendment was not followed through. So to counteract this, Congress decided to take Reconstruction into their own hands and passed the 14th Amendment declaring equality for blacks and the fact that they, Congress, should have the power to enforce this amendment (section 5). This turnaround from what life was like previously for the black people before the war is so significant because before black people were not even considered to be second-rate citizens, which they were following the amendment, they weren’t even citizens in the eyes of the law. This amendment was in many ways badly drafted, decided on through compromise and the need to hurry it through before the Southern states were readmitted and could object to it.

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.

In the 1860s, the north and the south fought against each other over the long-standing controversy over slavery. At the end of the Civil War, the 13th amendment abolish slavery and slaves were free from their masters. The ex-slaves were free, but it would take some time for them to gain equal rights. Former slaves faced obstacles for equal rights like voting and segregation for nearly a century. Although the 14th and 15th amendments helped blacks with equal rights, there was no one to blaze a trail for blacks until Martin Luther King Jr. came along. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist and became a figurehead during the Civil Rights Movement for his peaceful protests. Martin Luther King Jr. peacefully stood against racial

But assuming one wasn’t, the Grandfather Clause was established. The Grandfather Clause stated that if your grandfather was able to vote you automatically could too. No African American had a grandfather who voted, they were all still slaves. Because the South kept on segregating African Americans with Black Codes and disenfranchisement, the Civil Rights Act had to be put into action during Reconstruction.

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.

Throughout this time, the ranking of freedman was significantly increased, and by 1868; many state legislatures had African American delegates. All of America, as well as the South, had to be rebuilt, and, despite the South's hostile resistance, African-Americans were slowly and gradually becoming part of this nation. The long-awaited citizenship for Blacks was confirmed in 1868, by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. By 1870, the 15th Amendment had been added to the Constitution, which gave blacks the right to vote. The 15th Amendment forbids the states from denying the right to vote to any person on account of race, color, or previous condition of

The only way any men were to be exempted from this clause was if his father or grandfather were to have voted previous to 1867. Being that African Americans’ ancestors were slaves, they were not able to be exempted thus they had to pass the tests, pay the tax, and pass any other requirements thrown at them. It was not until June 21, 1915 that the court declared it unlawful, leaving way for African Americans to vote.

When the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution, stating, “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on the account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” Southern states searched for loopholes in an attempt to deny freedmen the right to vote. Southern state governments required blacks to pay voting taxes, pass literacy tests and endure many other discriminatory, restrictive practices. In addition, the Ku Klux Klan intimidated black men who tried to vote by burning their homes, churches and schools, and even murder. As Frederick Douglass explained, “it is said that we are ignorant; admit it. But if we know enough to be hung, we know enough to vote. If the Negro knows enough to pay taxes to support government, he knows enough to vote; taxation and representation should go together. If he knows enough to shoulder a musket and fight for the flag for the government, he knows enough to vote ....What I ask for the Negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice.”

Those who felt threatened by the massive amount of African-Americans who would now be participating in the government criticized this Amendment, which allowed all male citizens the right to vote regardless of race. Ex-Confederates, many of which were not allowed to vote after bitterly losing to the north, argued that African-Americans were not ready to vote because they were ignorant to the political system of the U.S. The political power of the south would be in the hands of the formerly oppressed, as opposed to their oppressors, who would be practically powerless. The debate on this topic would cause more tension in southern society, which was already undergoing a difficult period of adaptation. Another problem which arose in the south were laws which would further the oppression of the African-American population. Commonly called Black Codes, these laws also punished white persons who supported emancipation during the Civil War. These Black Codes were often unreasonable or unneeded to keep order within society. They were simply created as bitter retaliation by the ex-Confederates who were not pleased by the integration, which had just taken place. Black Codes were created and enforced on a State level which became superior to the Fourteenth Amendment. The laws would be psychologically damaging to the African-American population, who would be forced to feel