Reconstruction Era Amendments

Read the text from Section 1 of the 14th Amendment:

" All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 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 it jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. "

Which statement describes one of the conditions this Reconstruction era amendment was designed to correct?

• Freed African-American men in the South were still being denied the right to vote

   

   

   

•  

  Freed African-American men continued to be denied their rights as American citizens in some states

   

   

   

•   Arguing that African-American men were not citizens, some southern states tried to reestablish slavery

   

   

•   African-American men in the former Confederacy were permanently denied rights under the Constitution

   

What was the direct effect of the 13th Amendment?

• the abolition of slavery

   

•  the desegregation of public schools

   

•  

  the enforcement of poll taxes by state governments

   

• the establishment of African-American National Guards

What was the immediate impact of Fourteenth Amendment?

• It granted citizenship to African-Americans.

   

•   It guaranteed suffrage rights to African-Americans.

   

•   It prohibited the use of poll taxes in the United States.

• It outlawed the segregation of public facilities in the United States.

The  _________ were created to provide constitutional protections for African Americans after the end of the Civil War.

• Progressive Amendments

• Bill of Rights

  Amendments

• Reconstruction Amendments

• Presidential Amendments

In practice, the impact of these protections was limited because some state governments  _________ .

• enacted legislation that enforced racial segregation.

• campaigned against the amendments and got them repealed.

• passed an amendment that made state laws supreme to federal laws.

Answer explanation

Black Codes were passed in several states to prevent Black people from receiving equal treatment under the law.

In the Dred Scott Decision

" The Supreme Court ruled that under the

Constitution, African Americans are not citizens."

Which Amendment corrected this issue in 1868?

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

Answer explanation

BEFORE the passage of the 14th Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that African Americans were NOT citizens in the Dred Scott Decision of 1857.

The Citizenship Clause in the 14th Amendment corrects this and states that any person born or naturalized in the United States is a citizen.

AFTER the passage of the 14th Amendment, which of the following statements became true.

• Citizens enjoyed protection from their State

  infringing upon their rights

• African American women could vote.

• Citizens were denied equal protection under the law.

AFTER the passage of the 14th Amendment, which of the following statements became true.

• African American women could vote.

• African Americans were denied equal rights.

• African Americans were counted fully when

  apportioning seats in the House of Representatives

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments addressed issues in the United States after the Civil War by enacting a series of changes in society.

Identify the issue that the following excerpt addresses :

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof..."

• Who is entitled to suffrage?

• How is U.S. citizenship defined?

• What is to be done with slavery?

Answer explanation

The citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment defined American citizenship.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to it's jurisdiction were citizens regardless of their previous condition of servitude.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments addressed issues in the United States after the Civil War by enacting a series of changes in society.

Identify the issue that the following excerpt addresses :

"The right of the citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

• How is U.S. citizenship defined?

• What is to be done with slavery?

• Who is entitled to suffrage?

Answer explanation

The 15th Amendment stated the right of citizens to vote could not be denied based on race, color or previous condition of servitude.

Southern states found a way around this amendment by enacting voting restrictions like grandfather clauses, literacy tests & poll taxes.