Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution wikipedia , lookup
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution wikipedia , lookup
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution wikipedia , lookup
Name The Fourteenth Amendment By Cathy Pearl The South had lost the Civil War. Because of this, people could no longer own slaves. The Thirteenth Amendment made it illegal in the country. The South still thought of other ways to try to fight back. They made rules that said where and when blacks could work and where they could live. These new laws made it very hard for blacks to gain many rights. These rules were called Black Codes. Many Southern states were against this change. However, they did not have a choice but to agree to it. In order for a state to rejoin the Union, it had to ratify the amendment. This made it very hard for any of them to say no. At the time, Congress did not have members in it from most of the states that had seceded from the Union. This made it easy for Congress to pass the amendment and propose it to the states. If there had been people from the South in Congress, it probably would not have been passed. Still, not all states ratified the amendment in the 1800s. Kentucky was the last state to agree to it. It waited until March 18, 1976, before it ratified the change. This changed the Supreme Court's ruling during the Dred Scott case. At the time, the Court said that African Americans were not and could never be citizens. The Court's ruling was overturned. This amendment has been used by other groups over the years in order to fight for their rights. Women wanted the same treatment that men received in the country. This would be "equal protection." They would earn the right to vote in 1920. These rules made people in the North angry. They thought the South was trying to get around the fact that they had lost the war. The people in Congress knew that more new laws would have to be made to protect blacks in the country. In the 1960s, women and minorities would fight for "equal protection" in the areas of jobs and housing. It wouldn't be until 1992 that an African American woman would be elected to the Senate. This was over one hundred years after blacks became citizens in this country. Congress came up with the Fourteenth Amendment. This would give citizenship to all people born in the United States. It also made it illegal to treat people unfairly because of the color of their skin. It gave everyone equal protection under the law. This fight for equal rights for all in this country had just started. African Americans and others in this country would not give up, no matter how long it took them to earn the same rights as others. The amendment became known as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Its goal was to help former slaves get more rights in this country. It was presented to the states on June 13, 1866. There were thirty-seven states in the country. Twenty-eight of them would have to agree to this. The first state to ratify it was Connecticut. It did so on June 25, 1866. A little over two years later, the twenty-eighth state ratified it. This state was South Carolina. Ratification was completed on July 9, 1868. Name 5. Whose ruling was overturned by the new amendment? A. The Supreme Court B. Congress C. The president The Fourteenth Amendment 6. When would women earn the right to vote? Questions 1. What was the name for rules that were used to try to control the lives of former slaves? Was it right for Congress to pass this amendment without most Southern states being included? Explain your answer. 2. What was the first state to ratify the amendment? A. Connecticut B. South Carolina C. Kentucky 3. Why were many Southern states forced to ratify the amendment? A. They wanted to ratify it. B. They had to ratify it to rejoin the Union. C. Congress told them they had to. 4. When did Kentucky ratify the Fourteenth Amendment? Name Explain what you think "equal protection under the law" means.