The Constitution: The Civil Rights Amendments
After the Civil War ended in 1865, Americans began the business of reconstructing their country, and along with it, their Constitution. Kurt Lash, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond, analyzes the three amendments that ushered in a new era of freedom for all.
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Script:
As Americans began the business of reconstructing their country after a bloody civil war, they also reconstructed their Constitution. That was the purpose of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
The 13th amendment abolished slavery.
The 14th amendment enhanced the civil rights of all citizens.
And the 15th amendment guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race.
Together, these three amendments, known as the Reconstruction Amendments, declared a new birth of freedom in the United States.
In January 1863, at the height of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. That Proclamation declared free any person held as a slave in the rebel states. But ending slavery would require much more than a wartime executive order.
First, the Union would have to win the war — that wasn’t certain in 1863 — and second, Lincoln would have to persuade the American people to amend the Constitution to ban slavery forever.
In January 1865, with Lincoln’s encouragement, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment. The amendment proclaimed, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
On April 9th of that year, Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union general Ulysses S. Grant. The Civil War was finally over. Less than a week later, Abraham Lincoln was dead, felled by an assassin’s bullet. But his ambition to free the slaves lived on. On December 6th, 1865, the American people ratified the Thirteenth Amendment. Slavery could no longer find sanctuary in the Constitution.
Although the now-former slaves had attained freedom, that didn’t mean they had attained equality. Taking advantage of the chaos following Lincoln’s assassination, the southern states passed the infamous “Black Codes” — laws and local ordinances which denied blacks basic rights such as free speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to peaceably assemble.
You might well ask, weren’t blacks — now that they were free — protected like every other free American by the Bill of Rights? No — not according to the Supreme Court. In 1833, the Court had ruled in Barron v. Baltimore that the first ten amendments applied only to the federal government, and not to the states.
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There's only a 13th, 14th and 15th amendment????
Might you have a video on the 1st-12th?
Is this Ai lol
The constitution defended slavery, segregation, and redlining. I wipe my butt with the constitution.
The thing that has troubled me with the Civil Rights Act of '65…Is that it is worded in a way that can prohibit an individual rights to exercise his religious beliefs or principles. For Example, the cake maker that was sued for not making a gay wedding cake. or a Trans cake. but, here is the issue at the heart of it. If the man is forced to make a cake, is he free or a slave? he says his belief says not to take apart in a person sinning. so…he doesn't make a cake and the people sue using the discrimination claim. And yet, there are other cake makers…so, why the issue?
Politicians and bureaucrats have been undercutting and end-running those amendments since before the ink was dry. Ask the Native Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans and now, conservative and Christian Whtie Americans.
After trying to destroy our constitutional electoral process right before our eyes, Trump now says the constitution should be “terminated”.
Of course, it seems exceedingly unlikely he’s ever bothered to read our constitution. And most of his supporters never got past the second amendment. Lol.
why are religists so afraid of atheists? we don't have any rules to follow, we
don't have a hell, we don't have a book you have to read, secular non religious
countries are doing really well and in fact are least likely to get involved in wars,
we are only 3-4% of the population, i for one don't even want you on my team, stay religist,
humanists even advocate for all religions to
have a voice – i think it's pure envy of our freedom, we aren't scared of hell
and we don't care what gods say. what is it about atheists that scares the pants
off religists?
Black codes existed in the North long before they existed in the South and they only existed in the South after people from the North had taken over.
"Reconstructing the constitution" – meaning the overthrow of the government as founded and the establishment of a totalitarian corporatist regime, all performed by the real traitors.
This is literally just a leftist telling of American history. American conservatives need to wake up. This isn’t real history. It’s propaganda.
Blah blah blah unfortunately today the only piece that is emphasized is the word DISPARITY. If a disparity exists, it’s white supremacy that caused it. No accountability on the minority member whatsoever. No consideration for the personal choices of the individual or lack of personal responsibility. Only three reasons for disparity: white folks; rich folks; and slavery. Nothing else matters to the leftoid Dems.
What is the proper response when the federal government itself violates the constitution
Wait, did you really talk about slavery and forget that THE UNITED STATES HAS SLAVES. All people in the prison system are exempt of the “freedom of slavery”, meaning we use them for free slave labor. And it’s not hypothetical, ALL military equipment is made via American slave labor, giving a person 7¢ an hour for a breast plate that saves a soldiers life and Republicans have invested billions in each year for the right prison to build their cheap labor. So remind me how America is slave free?
Except for Jim Crow.
Then from 1870 to 1968 Jim crow laws were enforced
It would be nice if the 13th amendment quote was included in full
Howard Zinn's A People's History Of The United States should always be TAUGHT IN SCHOOL!
I don't care for Prager U due to it politics. But this video was good.
There was much more work to be done? Don’t y’all mean there still IS much more work need to be done for equality Lmfao
I'm actually surprised they mention the Black Codes