Why The United States Won The Civil War?

The United States was once divided between the North, the Union, and the South, the Confederacy. America was engaged in its own Civil War over disagreements on how the U.S. should be ran. The South didn’t consider slave as people and should be treated as such. In contrast, the North determined that the Constitution applied to slaves as it did to the whites. The Civil War was fought on the issue of what to do with the slaves now that the country was free. After the North won the Civil War the reconstruction of the United States was immediately put into effect. The reconstruction period started with the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery freeing the slaves. Then the 14th Amendment enforced the legitimacy of the 13th by outlawing discrimination and ensuring equality. Finally,

the 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote. The reconstruction amendments played a significant role for the African American people who now has a taste of the country they fought for.

First, the 13th Amendment was amended in 1865 right after the civil war had been fought and ended.

After the Union had won the war they passed an amendment that would give the slaves their freedom. The 13th amendment stated, 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. Also, Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation (“Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution”, Wikipedia). This order weakened the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Fugitive Slave Clause that was placed on African Americans. African Americans were now longer counted as three-fifth of a person when it came to representation nor subjected to unusual punishment. The protection of these new found freedoms was also promised in the 13th amendment, so that it will be more effective than the Emancipation Proclamation. But, slaves were not the only ones that benefited from the 13th Amendment, so did people who were traficked. Human trafficking is also another form of slavery was abolished when the 13th Amendment was

ratified.

In addition to the 13th Amendment, the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868. The 14th Amendment gave African Americans U.S. citizenship and the right to equal protection of laws. Not only were they free, but they also was equal. No priviledge shall be denied by anyone based on racial discrimination and that everyone has equal protection when it comes to the law. Equal protection meant equal representation by government officials in their jurisdiction. Another right promised was the right to due process in courts where no one could denied their life, liberty, and property. To ensure that these points were followed, government was given the power to enforce these rules. Finally, any debt that was caused from the useage of slaves were denied by the government now that such reasons were illegal.

The final amendment of the reconstruction amendments was the 15th. The 15th Amendment stated, no 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 (“Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution”, Wikipedia). This gave African American men the right to vote. This was a big deal because only sophisticated white men had this priviledege. In addition, even white women didn’t have this luxuary, because race did not account for gender.