Reconstruction Amendments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reconstruction Amendments - Essay Example The reconstruction amendments of the US constitution comprise the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. The amendments were adopted just after the end of the civil war in the period between 1865 and 1870 according to Franklin (3). The amendments were necessary for the reconstruction of the America’s Southern states. The Thirteenth Amendment was influential in the abolishment of slave trade. The succeeding amendment stipulates privileges, immunities equal protection as well as due process On the other hand, the Fifteenth Amendment gives the right to vote people of all color, race and those previously held in servitude. The fourteenth amendment of the United States constitution was done in 1868 in the month of July. The ratification of the fourteenth Amendment was not accepted by all and it had a lot of contentions (Franklin 11). The southern state legislature was among those that refused the ratification of the amendment. This ratification led to the introduction of the Reconstructio n Acts. The existing states governments were ignored and in return military governments were imposed. This was followed by the establishment of civil governments, hence the ratification. The reason for ratification was significant in several ways which are implied in its clauses. The first clause is the citizenship clause. It is important as it defines citizenship overruling the decision which denied the blacks the right to become citizens of the United States (Collins 13).