 |
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Amendments: 13, 14, 15
How are a citizen's rights protected by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments?
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment comprises a very short statement that prohibits slavery, except for convicted criminals, and a short statement that allows Congress to pass laws to enforce this prohibition:
Section 1: 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.
Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
This amendment was first introduced in the U.S. Senate early in 1864, when the war was still under way. The Senate passed the amendment in April 1864, but the House did not pass it until January 1865. After Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, his successor Andrew Johnson made ratification of the 13th Amendment a requirement for readmission to the Union. Eighteen states ratified it very shortly after Congress formally approved it. After much delay by the former Confederate states, it was ratified by the minimum of twenty-seven of the thirty-six states on December 6, 1865.
The 13th Amendment comprises a very short statement that prohibits slavery, except for convicted criminals, and a short statement that allows Congress to pass laws to enforce this prohibition:
Section 1: 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.
Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
This amendment was first introduced in the U.S. Senate early in 1864, when the war was still under way. The Senate passed the amendment in April 1864, but the House did not pass it until January 1865. After Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, his successor Andrew Johnson made ratification of the 13th Amendment a requirement for readmission to the Union. Eighteen states ratified it very shortly after Congress formally approved it. After much delay by the former Confederate states, it was ratified by the minimum of twenty-seven of the thirty-six states on December 6, 1865.
14th Amendment
Despite reluctantly acceding to the core requirements for readmission to the Union, many of the former Confederate states began passing laws – the so-called "Black Codes" – that disenfranchised the former slaves economically and politically.
This drove the Republicans who controlled Congress to undertake stronger measures to impose their will on the defeated Southern states. The first of these came in the form of the 14th Amendment, a more detailed set of restrictions on the states than either of the other Civil War amendments. Its main points are summarized below:
Section 1: No state may abridge the privileges and immunities of any of its citizens, or deny them due process of law or equal protection of the laws.
Section 2: When any state denies the right to vote at any election to any of its male citizens of voting age, its representation in elections for national offices will be reduced in the same proportion. (Basically, if a state excludes African Americans, then it will be given proportionally fewer seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and fewer votes in the presidential electoral college.)
Section 3: No person who has engaged in or supported insurrection or rebellion against the United States may hold public office.
Section 4: All debts incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States and all compensation claims made for emancipation of any slave will be held as illegal and void.
Congress proposed the 14th Amendment on June 13, 1866. More than two years later on July 28, 1868 the U.S. Secretary of State certified that it had been ratified by twenty-eight of the thirty-seven states.
In the intervening time, the Congressional elections of 1866 added to the strength of the Republicans, giving them the two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress needed to override any presidential veto. The Republicans began the new session in March 1867 by passing additional reconstruction laws (over President Johnson's veto), inaugurating a new period of much firmer treatment of the South known as the Radical Reconstruction. Congress divided the South into military districts and required the states to adopt new constitutions, provide for black suffrage, and ratify the (still un-ratified) 14th Amendment.
Despite reluctantly acceding to the core requirements for readmission to the Union, many of the former Confederate states began passing laws – the so-called "Black Codes" – that disenfranchised the former slaves economically and politically.
This drove the Republicans who controlled Congress to undertake stronger measures to impose their will on the defeated Southern states. The first of these came in the form of the 14th Amendment, a more detailed set of restrictions on the states than either of the other Civil War amendments. Its main points are summarized below:
Section 1: No state may abridge the privileges and immunities of any of its citizens, or deny them due process of law or equal protection of the laws.
Section 2: When any state denies the right to vote at any election to any of its male citizens of voting age, its representation in elections for national offices will be reduced in the same proportion. (Basically, if a state excludes African Americans, then it will be given proportionally fewer seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and fewer votes in the presidential electoral college.)
Section 3: No person who has engaged in or supported insurrection or rebellion against the United States may hold public office.
Section 4: All debts incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States and all compensation claims made for emancipation of any slave will be held as illegal and void.
Congress proposed the 14th Amendment on June 13, 1866. More than two years later on July 28, 1868 the U.S. Secretary of State certified that it had been ratified by twenty-eight of the thirty-seven states.
In the intervening time, the Congressional elections of 1866 added to the strength of the Republicans, giving them the two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress needed to override any presidential veto. The Republicans began the new session in March 1867 by passing additional reconstruction laws (over President Johnson's veto), inaugurating a new period of much firmer treatment of the South known as the Radical Reconstruction. Congress divided the South into military districts and required the states to adopt new constitutions, provide for black suffrage, and ratify the (still un-ratified) 14th Amendment.
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was aimed directly at curtailing attempts by the former Confederate states to exclude former slaves from voting and at the persistent violence over their political participation. It contains two short sections that prohibit the denial of the right to vote and allow Congress to enforce this prohibition.
Section 1: 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.
Section 2: The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The 15th Amendment was passed by Congress and submitted to the states for ratification on February 26, 1869 amid recurring bouts of violence against African Americans, particularly at polling locations.
Despite these incidents, the South was under much tighter Union control than earlier under the softer reconstruction in the immediate post-war period, and the ratification by the minimum three-fourths of the states was completed within a year. On March 30, 1870, the 15th Amendment was declared to have been ratified by the legislatures of twenty-nine of the thirty-seven existing states.
The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was aimed directly at curtailing attempts by the former Confederate states to exclude former slaves from voting and at the persistent violence over their political participation. It contains two short sections that prohibit the denial of the right to vote and allow Congress to enforce this prohibition.
Section 1: 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.
Section 2: The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The 15th Amendment was passed by Congress and submitted to the states for ratification on February 26, 1869 amid recurring bouts of violence against African Americans, particularly at polling locations.
Despite these incidents, the South was under much tighter Union control than earlier under the softer reconstruction in the immediate post-war period, and the ratification by the minimum three-fourths of the states was completed within a year. On March 30, 1870, the 15th Amendment was declared to have been ratified by the legislatures of twenty-nine of the thirty-seven existing states.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)