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Civil War Amendments History

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Civil War Amendments History
Amid the era of reconstruction, amendments were added to the United States Constitution in an effort to inaugurate equality for recently freed African American slaves. These three newly adapted laws were known as the reconstruction amendments, listed as the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. The establishment occurred between the years of 1865 to 1870. Additionally these amendments were referred to as the Civil War Amendments due to the fact that they were constructed and ratified succeeding the end to the Civil War. The attempt at reconstruction was in pursuit to fix a country, broken from war, and help united the north and the south that presented resistance. The Civil War had ultimately altered the American nation, leaving behind a broken civilization in need of guidance and innovation. The history of the reconstruction amendments and their intentions shaped today’s society and how the United States exists today. President Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office March 4, 1861 and faced the responsibility to attempt to keep the Union whole. The new …show more content…
The Civil War resulted in an estimated six hundred eighteen thousand Americans lives lost in its five year span. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free". While the proclamation showed little results it did set the pathway for future reconstruction and the abolishment of slavery. The proclamation also helped to overrule previous rulings about free African American rights. One of the most notable cases occurred in 1856, when the Supreme Court had ruled under the Dred Scott v. Sandford that even free Blacks could not be a citizen of the United States, and that they “had no rights which a white man was bound to
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