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The Amendment Of The Fourteenth Amendment

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On January 31st, 1865, the 13th amendment was passed by congress. This amendment said that no one, not even those of differing colors, could be held as slaves (with the exception of prisoners). In short, this amendment freed the black slaves (and other races) of enslavement. Unfortunately though, the black slaves were never truly “free” for well over 100 years, as after the passing of the 13th amendment, they were repeatedly persecuted against, most notably in the southern United States. Furthermore, Mississippi never submitted the required paperwork to ratify the 13th amendment until February 7th, 2013 (Waldron, “Mississippi Officially Abolishes Slavery”, 2013). Fortunately though, slavery would still have been illegal even if Mississippi …show more content…

In states such as South Carolina, the “Black Codes” were adjusted to prohibit the Black community from holding any job other than Farmer or Servant (“Black Codes”, 2010). Other states allowed a Black person to be beaten should they fail to sign or renew a “Labor Contract” (“Black Codes”, 2010). Worst of all though, Apprenticeship laws allowed for children to be used as free labor, mainly for plantation owners (“Black Codes”, 2010). Fortunately, those in the Northern States disapproved of the “Black Codes” and wanted them to be abolished (“Reconstruction”, 2009/”Black Codes”, 2010). The United States Congress agreed with the public and quickly introduced the “Civil Rights Act” (“Reconstruction”, 2009/”Black Codes”, 2010). Despite President Andrew Johnson vetoing the bill, Congress managed to override the veto and put the bill into law (“Reconstruction”, 2009/”Black Codes”, 2010). As soon as the bill was officially signed, the US government took control of the Southern Reconstruction. As a result of the government intervening in the Reconstruction Era, Southern Blacks were soon elected into government offices, including Congressional Seats (“Reconstruction”, 2009/”Black Codes”, 2010). Unfortunately, thanks to the US Government’s involvement in the Reconstruction Era, white supremacist groups were created, most notably the Ku Klux Klan, or the KKK for short. While it was originally founded in 1866 as a group dedicated to stopping Blacks from

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