Essay On The Constitutional Revolution

Alongside the brutal, bloody Civil War and makeshift post-war reconstruction in the South were several monumental changes within the United States. As federal power increased, so did the power of the Constitution, as it began to expand and shift to encompass more and more people. With this also came a social change; millions of blacks, now freed by the thirteenth amendment, had the potential to be just as successful as their white brethren. As time went by, however, numerous pitfalls and opposing viewpoints challenged the idea of constitutional and social transformation. While there was a constitutional revolution occurring from 1860-1877, there was little to no social revolution happening at the same time. The Constitution itself, the foundation

The writers of the petition believed two things: that the South Carolina government’s emphasis on state’s rights would never give blacks their long deserved property, and that the constitution now applied to them because they were free from slavery. In response, Washington created the Freedmen 's Bureau to guarantee African Americans a chance at the pursuit of happiness, and passed the 14th amendment under the constitution to secure the rights of African-American citizens. The intervention of the federal government in the south was a godsend for its black population, and the first time it has encompassed those of a different race. Senator Lot Morrill in congress recognized the Constitution’s new moral code, and in a passionate speech proclaimed, “We have revolutionized this Constitution of ours to that extent...” (Doc F). Morrill, in response to the Civil Rights bill being passed to help protect the rights of black citizens, understood the new responsibilities of the Constitution, and supported them fully. He knew that as a country changes, so must its government, and the shifting of the constitution to reflect the changing values of the people was fitting. There were some, however, that disagreed with

There was somewhat of a push for progressive treatment of newly freed blacks, and several documents, like A. R. Waud’s The First Vote captured their newfound freedom. In The First Vote, it shows an older black man casting his vote at the ballot box, quite possibly the first as indicated by the title (Doc G). The picture is not drawn in a malicious or caricatured way, so the author was not biased in his depiction of southern black voters in the reconstruction era. Rather it is a realistic representation of new voting rights blacks attained under the fifteenth amendment, and perhaps sheds a hint of optimism for the future of freed blacks. Aside from others beginning to treat black people as equals, they themselves began to stand up for themselves and hold their life in higher regard. A convention of black soldiers in Tennessee petitioned the government for representation, claiming, “Is this the fruit of freedom, and the reward of our services in the field?” (Doc C). These men, who had laid their lives down to help bring the union back together, were wanting the right to vote just like their white comrades. After protesting and petitioning it enough, they eventually got it in the form of an amendment to the constitution. Despite best intentions, there was quite a bit left unchanged in southern society after the Civil War, cartoons like Thomas Nast’s Worst than