The United States constitution have modificated the government and our society through amendments.Constitutional change is when an amendment is added or removed from the constitution. Two example of constitutional change is The 13th Amendment and The 14th Amendment. One important amendment is The 13th Amendment. The story is that before the Civil War (1860s) the southerns states called the Confederate States of America had slavery. African American was brought to America and put into slavery. The African born in America were also slave. Slavery was bring many problem to the country, like dividing the country people from the north didn't want slavery and people from the south want slavery, this cause many conflict between the north and south.
In total there are 27 amendments to the Constitution, all with different ways to make America better. Around 1791 the first amendments were made but the amendments I will be looking at occurred later. The 13th Amendment was made in 1865 and was designed to stop slavery forever; nobody in the US would work against their will. The only exception is for prisoners that have been convicted of a crime.
From the day, the first European set foot on American soil up until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which occurred in 1865. Slavery was a controversial issue. The issue of slavery divided up the United States of America to ultimately put the two against each other. The Northern States who identifies themselves as the Union disapproved of the atrocious actions of the South who condone the crude treatment of slaves and the disturbing practices of slavery. Although slavery was not the sole cause of the Civil war, it played an important part in the disunion of the United States. The battle between states rights and federal rights rubbed more salt in the already enormous wound. Southern States who later considers themselves the confederates disapproved of the idea that the available actions of the states to act upon certain situations were dwindling, reducing the power and rights of the states. The set up of all these complications and disagreements led to the secession of the southern states which initiated the start of the brutal American Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865.
Groups of people soon received new rights. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. It gave black Americans full citizenship and guaranteed them equal treatment. Also, it passed the Fourteenth Amendment to make sure that the Supreme Court couldn’t declare the Civil Rights Act unconstitutional. The amendment made blacks citizens of the United States and the states in which they lived. Also, states were forbidden to deprive blacks of life, liberty, or property without due process. Additionally, blacks could not be discriminated by the law. If a state would deprive blacks of their rights as citizens, it’s number of congressional representatives would be reduced. The Civil Rights Act as well as the Fourteenth Amendment affected both the North and the South.
The election of Abraham Lincoln and the secession of the South led to the outbreak of the civil war. The civil war was the first revolutionary change in America. States' rights were a major issue during this time. Issues of power, different interpretations of the constitution, and banking issues led to many difficulties. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. In South Carolina's Declaration of Causes, it was stated that "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states" (Document A). The 10th amendment which limited the power of the federal government had acted as a backing for the secession of the South. Nowhere in the constitution did it say that the states had no right to secede from the Union. This secession from the union forever changed the country. Another major change that occurred after the civil war was the thirteenth amendment which abolished slavery. Even though the slaves had fought for the Union in the civil war, they were unable to take any political action and were still inferior as it is stated in document C. The fifteenth amendment granted the right to vote to all men no matter the race. It was argued t...
Throughout time there have been many amendments to the United States Constitution. Some have had little to no effect on the population. One amendment that this writer will take a look at is the Fourteenth Amendment. The wording of the amendment has been debated here recently but bottom line it abolished slavery. This amendment also made an attempt to equalize everyone that is born here in America or naturalized. The ripple effect of this change to the constitution is still being felt today. It is hard to imagine living in a world where the African American community was not considered equal to the white man. A ground breaking distinction in the language written out in the document was that of it applying on the federal level as well as the state jurisdiction. This is especially important as we see the civil union marriages have conflict
...ious slaves the right to citizenship, meaning they were able to do anything that a normal citizen could do, for example hold seats of power. The Fifteenth amendment ensured that they were given the right to vote. However, the reason that their accomplishments were in vain was because they did not get rid of racism. Whatever advancement they made was taken back due to whites still believing in racism. After the Reconstruction era, the South feared an African American with power so they formed hate groups and technicalities to get around amendments. Even though the Fourteenth amendment ensured that slaves were given the right to citizenship, the whole ideal of “separate but equal” came into play. With the Fifteenth amendment, the South was able to justify the racist action of enforcing a literacy clause or a grandfather clause by writing it into their constitution.
The Fourteenth Amendment is the main source of power for most of the laws concerning affirmative action, desegregation, hate crimes, voting, and congressional representation that are used today. Without the fourteenth amendment there would have been no basis for the civil rights movement, we would still have separate facilities for blacks and whites. We would have no base for determining citizenship, voting rights, or congressional representation. The textbook discusses Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution as being primarily an amendment which focuses on civil rights. Prior to the fourteenth amendment there were no definitions of civil rights.
To the African American community the 15th amendment was the most important amendment to the constitution. The 15th Amendment was made to provide every man, no matter what color he was, the right to vote. This made every man equal, although not all were treated that way. The 15th Amendment was very significant to many Americans of different races. This Amendment changed their lives forever by allowing them to vote.
The United States government was founded on a written set of principles known as the Constitution. There have only been 17 amendments, or changes, since ratification. While the United States has evolved with time the role and function of the government, and the way the government guarantees civil rights and liberties, has also evolved. These changes have resulted from changing or broadening of the interpretation of the constitution. Although the core of the constitution has not changed, it has expanded and its interpretation has changed to keep up with societal demands.
The three amendments in this chapter are the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment. To begin with the thirteenth began in 1865 and it abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, but it had an exception that allowed it to be used if a person is convicted. The exception gave people permission to allow someone to endure slavery and servitude as a sort of punishment for their wrongdoing. The decisions of this amendment are controlled by congress.
For example, the US Government passed the 13th Amendment in 1865 to end slavery for once and for all. As the 13th Amendment says, “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.” (Constitution) The passing of the 13th Amendment created a new life for African Americans to explore freedom in hopes of becoming something in the world. The 15th Amendment finally delivered African Americans the right to vote. As the 15th Amendment states, “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.” (Constitution) The African Americans have waited a long time to have the right to vote and now they have the chance to state their view in politics in the North and South. In all, the US Government made their mark with Reconstruction by delivering rights to African Americans, who have been waiting for them for a long
This amendment also led to blacks thinking they were equal and some whites not creating controversy and violence about blacks. This amendment started the path to the open diversity and difference between the people of the country. It led people to see blacks as more that slaves and has paved the way for not only them but many others. This amendment has brought Blacks, Asians, Europeans, South Americans and other races together. This amendment also tore apart some white families who were split on civil rights and still are today. These white individuals or families believe that blacks have no right to vote or to have citizenship in America. Luckily, very few people think that and most people here in America accept and welcome diversity into their
In 1866 Congress passed the 14th and 15th amendments because the south was not looking out for the better intreates of the blacks. At this time reconstruction had began. Around the time reconstruction had began , most black people felt that they did not have to work in the fields or work at hard labor jobs. So they started electing other black man into office so that they could have rights and voice in the government. Also these officals helped with getting schools and education for the black population.
These amendments outline basic, natural human rights given to all “American citizens irrespective of race, color, creed or gender, and what state they may live in.” (Amending the Constitution). The Bill of Rights did not come to be without controversy, though. There were two groups at the time, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists believed that the Constitution already protected the citizens and their natural rights. However, the Anti-Federalists believed that without the Bill of Rights, too much power would be given to the Federal government. If today’s political parties were one or the other, Democrats would be Federalist and the Republicans would want to limit the power of the federal government and thus be
I think one of the most important ones there is actually. This amendment forbids slavery in the U.S. and in any area under its control. Signifying that no one shall be forced to work for another, except as a punishment for a crime, but some mandatory service is not prohibited. For example, you can be placed on jury duty, but it goes too far when you are forced into the armed forces. This amendment is the most important because it banned slavery in all American states. The Emancipation proclamation, although frequently credited with abolishing slavery, only made it illegal in the “rebelling” states- so essentially within the Confederacy. States that were fighting for the Union who had slavery systems, Maryland, West Virginia, East Tennessee, were not required to free their slaves. The 13th Amendment addressed this issue and formally outlawed slavery in the U.S. and its