"Starfish Can't Vote, Right?"

Look at the "Quick Notes" on page 7 in your history notebook.

Add notes about the amendments to this page.

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Ending the War, Ending Slavery
In January 1865 – three months before the Civil War ended – Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery in the United States. The war ended when the Confederacy surrendered in April 1865. After that, all states were once again part of the United States of America. In December 1865, slavery was finally abolished in the entire United States when the last state ratified (passed) the 13th Amendment.



-taken from iCivics information about the Reconstruction Era

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Reconstructing a Nation
The war left much of the South destroyed and disorganized. The Southern states needed to be made part of the United States again, but people disagreed about how that should happen. Some, like President Andrew Johnson, believed the Southern states should be let back into the U.S. and the former Confederates shouldn’t be punished. But many in Congress wanted to make sure the Southern politicians were punished for seceding. They also did not want Southern politicians to interfere with the new freedom of African Americans. This period of rebuilding after the Civil War is known as Reconstruction. Many in the South resisted the changes, and the federal government had to send troops to enforce the new civil rights laws.

-taken from iCivics information about the Reconstruction Era

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Changing the Constitution
The 13th Amendment did not end the slaves’ troubles. Many Southern states quickly passed laws to restrict what little freedom the former slaves had. These were called "Black Codes". Something more was needed to expand and protect the rights of the former slaves. As part of the Reconstruction effort, Congress added two more amendments to the Constitution. In 1868, the 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship to all people born in the U.S. This amendment also gave all citizens the right to due process and equal protection under the law. In 1870, the 15th Amendment gave all men the right to vote regardless of their race or whether they had been slaves before the war.


-taken from iCivics information about the Reconstruction Era

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What’s Due Process?
Due process means people have the right to be treated fairly by the government. There are two kinds of due process. One has to do with what a law actually says. Laws must be fair and reasonable. The government cannot pass laws that unfairly limit people’s life, liberty, or property. The other type of due process has to do with how laws are enforced. Government officials must follow certain rules or procedures when they enforce laws. They cannot take away or limit someone’s life, liberty, or property without following those rules


-taken from iCivics information about the Reconstruction Era

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What About Equal Protection?
The government must treat people equally. Unreasonable discrimination by the government is not allowed. If a law does treat one group of people differently, the government must prove there is a good reason for it. Courts will decide if that reason is good enough to let the law stand. Both equal protection and due process were rights that African Americans lacked due to their race and former state of slavery. By granting these rights, as well as the right to vote– the Constitution expanded citizenship to a whole new group of Americans.


-taken from iCivics information about the Reconstruction Era

​Watch all of this-you have to show the gestures AND

​explain the amendments to finish this level!

Vocabulary for the Amendments:

amendment: change
jurisdiction: legal control

naturalized: made citizens

abridge: limit

immunities: rights

The 13th Amendment (Section 1):

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.

-text modified by Stanford History Education Group for younger students

The 14th Amendment (Section 1):

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States . . . are

citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

-text modified by Stanford History Education Group for younger students

15th Amendment (Section 1):

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.

-text modified by Stanford History Education Group for younger students

Multiple Choice

Which amendment?

Formerly enslaved men can vote.

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

• 2nd Amendment

Multiple Choice

Which amendment?

If you are born in the U.S., you are a U.S. citizen.

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

• 2nd Amendment

Multiple Choice

Which amendment?

Slavery is illegal in the United States.

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

• 2nd Amendment

Multiple Choice

Which amendment?

Formerly enslaved people are protected by law and are considered citizens.

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

• 2nd Amendment

Multiple Choice

Which amendment?

Due process and equal protection are guaranteed to all.

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

• 2nd Amendment

Multiple Choice

Which amendment?

Slavery is ended--EXCEPT as punishment for a felony crime.

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

• 2nd Amendment