
Each Reconstruction amendment addressed specific issues regarding former slaves, such as the right to vote, citizenship status, and equal protection. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution are referred to as the “Reconstruction Amendments
Reconstruction Amendments
The Reconstruction Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, adopted between 1865 and 1870, the five years immediately following the Civil War. The last time the Constitution had been amended was with the Tw…
What were the three phases of the Reconstruction policy?
- The Military Reconstruction Act divided the former Confederacy into five military districts. Union generals policed these districts.
- The Tenure of Office Act was passed requiring congressional approval before the president could remove appointees. ...
- The Grange was established by farmers in the Midwest. ...
- The U.S. ...
What was the last reconstruction amendment?
The last of the Reconstruction Amendments, The Fifteenth Amendment ( Proposed February 26, 1869; Adopted February 3, 1870) gave all male citizens of the United States, regardless of "race, color, or previous condition" of servitude the right to vote. Women would not have the right to vote until 50 years later.
How did the Reconstruction amendments change the Constitution?
The Reconstruction Amendments are a series of amendments to the U.S. Constitution that helped bring political equality to African Americans in the years following the Civil War. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery within the United States and its territories.
What was the purpose of the Reconstruction Amendments?
Reconstruction Amendments: Definition and Overview
- The 13th Amendment abolished slavery.
- The 14th Amendment gave citizenship to all people born in the US.
- The 15th Amendment gave Black Americans the right to vote.

What are the 13th 14th and 15th Amendments known as?
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, sometimes known as the Reconstruction Amendments, were critical to providing African Americans with the rights and protections of citizenship.
What are the Reconstruction Amendments explain each one?
The Reconstruction Amendments—also called the Civil War Amendments—are three additions to the United States Constitution that abolished slavery, granted equal rights to formerly enslaved people, and enshrined the right to vote for people of all races.
What did the 14th and 15th Amendments do?
The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, defines all people born in the United States as citizens, requires due process of law, and requires equal protection to all people. The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, prevents the denial of a citizen's vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Why were the 13th 14th and 15th Amendments important?
These amendments were intended to guarantee the freedom of the former slaves and grant certain civil rights to them and protect the former slaves and all citizens of the United States from discrimination.
What did the 15th Amendment do?
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote.
What did the 19th amendment accomplish?
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest.
What does the 13th Amendment do?
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Why the 13th Amendment is the most important?
The 13th Amendment forever abolished slavery as an institution in all U.S. states and territories. In addition to banning slavery, the amendment outlawed the practice of involuntary servitude and peonage. Involuntary servitude or peonage occurs when a person is coerced to work in order to pay off debts.
What were the Reconstruction Amendments quizlet?
The Reconstruction Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution,adopted between 1865 and 1870, the five years immediately following the Civil War. The Thirteenth Amendment (proposed and ratified in 1865) abolished slavery.
How do you remember the 13th 14th and 15th Amendments?
3:3210:58Easy Ways to Remember 11-27 Amendments - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo this was a big amendment amendment forgiving former slaves now the right to vote a good way toMoreSo this was a big amendment amendment forgiving former slaves now the right to vote a good way to remember the 13th 14th and 15th amendment is that free citizens can vote or free citizens vote.
Why were amendments necessary for reconstruction?
Amendments were to implement the important changes that were necessary in order to begin to reform and rebuild the United States to the envisioned status that was desired.
When were the reconstruction amendments ratified?
These are Amendments that were created and ratified in the five years following the Civil War, meaning between 1865 and 1870.
What were the Civil War Amendments?
The Civil War Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments that are found in the U.S. Constitution. These Amendments were proposed and placed in the Constitution in order to give rights and protection to individuals who did not have them before. This essentially gave legal rights to the slaves who were set free ...
Which amendment helped redefine citizenship?
actions. The Fourteenth Amendment, yet another of the Reconstruction Amendments, was the one that helped to redefine what was considered citizenship in the United States. This is also where the liberties and the rights of individuals were extended.
Which amendment gave the slaves the right to be free?
The Thirteenth Amendment was the Amendment that installed and legally abolished slavery in the United States.
What was the 15th amendment?
The Fifteenth Amendment was the final installation in the Civil War Amendments. This Amendment gave people, only males at this time, the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous status in the United States. These Reconstruction Amendments helped to move the United States into a more unified and progressive nation.
Which amendment did not stop voting obstacles to certain groups being utilized?
With this Amendment, lawyers could argue that these exploitative voting laws were targeting African American voters and were unconstitutional by way of the Fifteenth Amendment. This amendment did not fully stop voting obstacles to certain groups being utilized but did make those obstacles unconstitutional.
Who was the last person to speak on reconstruction?
This “Speech on Reconstruction” was his last public address to the people of the United States. In the crowd was John Wilkes Booth, who was angered at the outcome of the war and pledged to kill the President.
What were the laws of the South?
The South created strict laws that disproportionally affected newly freed African Americans called Black Codes. The most common violation was “vagrancy,” which imprisons individuals for unemployment or for finding employment that was not as “legitimate” in the eyes of the law.
Why was the 14th amendment important?
Congress began meeting to establish the Fourteenth Amendment, the second of three Reconstruction Amendments, to help establish this citizenship. In addition, Confederate States were required to ratify this amendment, in addition to 10% of the population pledging loyalty to the Union, in order to be readmitted into the United States. Because of these stipulations, this Amendment was highly contested between the North and the South. Even with these debates, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed on July 9, 1868. The first section reads:
What was the purpose of the Civil Rights Act of 1866?
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was written to establish citizenship, without question, to newly freed African Americans. The Act, after it was ratified, stated:
Why were grandfather clauses added to voting laws?
In order to not discriminate against poor white, illiterate farmers who usually voted Democrat, “Grandfather Clauses” were added to voting laws: if one’s grandfather had the right to vote, then their descendants had the right to vote regardless of other tests and limitations.
What was the caveat for the South to re-enslave African Americans?
At the time, the caveat “except as a punishment for a crime ” was non-controversial. Historically, prisoners had been punished with unpaid hard labor in the United States and abroad. However, including this stipulation allowed the South to re-enslave African Americans.
What were the three amendments to the Constitution made during the reconstruction?
During Reconstruction, three amendments to the Constitution were made in an effort to establish equality for black Americans. The Thirteenth Amendment, adopted in 1865, abolishes slavery or involuntary servitude except in punishment for a crime.
Which amendment protects the right to vote?
The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, defines all people born in the United States as citizens, requires due process of law, and requires equal protection to all people. The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, prevents the denial of a citizen’s vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
