A quote by Thaddeus Stevens himself, “I do not believe, sir, in human perfection, nor in the moral purity of human nature.” (Thaddeus, 2016). Since Stevens was a young child, he experienced the cruel aspect of human nature from his father and his absence towards his family. Steven’s mother was forced to raise him and his three other siblings on her own in poverty due to an insignificant income. (Cannato, 2016). Not only did Stevens have that certain disadvantage already for being so young, but he was also born with clubfoot, causing a limp when he walked for the rest of his life. (Thaddeus, 2014). When his mother finally scraped up the money, she sent Thaddeus and his siblings to a grammar school where he excelled in his education.(Thaddeus, 2016) Thaddeus furthered his education at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he was expelled, then shortly after attended Burlington College, then returned to Dartmouth College once again where he finished his college education. (Thaddeus, N.D) After college graduation, Thaddeus found a teaching opportunity in York, Pennyslvania where he taught different subjects ranging from the languages to philosophy to the generic subjects like mathematics, and science. (Cannato, 2016). Whenver he wasn’t busy teaching, he would be studying law, where he later passed the bar …show more content…
(Thaddeus, 2014) Following the war, Stevens decided to serve on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction and was a huge motivation towards the fourteenth amendment of making sure the government would no longer deprive citizens of their basic human rights. (Thaddeus, 2014) Stevens even composed of the fifteenth amendment of allowing African American men to vote, but was quickly rejected and Stevens was defeated and grew angry, (Carlson,
Abraham Lincoln, the abolisher of slavery, the African American’s President; he shocked the world when came up with plan to end the war. That was to take the South’s biggest asset, their greatest workhouse the Black community. The South were superior at agriculture without having to it touch. Then on the other hand you have the North that is big in factories and don’t want to lose any jobs. So Lincoln had a lot going against him he still pushed for the Emancipation Proclamation. The time period when everyone was fighting each other lincoln wanted something that would end the fight for good, something to bring this war-torn nation at peace. The amendment is to take away the heart and soul of the South so they have no reason to fight. At the time the Democrats were mainly in the South, while the Republicans are in the North where they don't need slave because they work complex mechanic jobs. President Lincoln was entering his second term and wanted the bill to pass before the election stared back up. With some other states already have secede from the Union with some
The amendment prevented voting restrictions due to race. Hiram Revels, a black senator, became the first out of sixteen blacks to be elected to Congress. This portion of Reconstruction succeeded for the most part, but something had to be done to stop the South from disobeying the laws.
Congress passes the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which divided the South into districts and required Southern states to approve the 14th Amendment to grant blacks citizenship, before rejoining the Union. Later, congress gives African Americans the right to vote by ratifying the 15th Amendment. The Reconstruction established the South’s first state-funded public school systems, created a just taxation legislation, and passed laws against discrimination and economic development programs. The approach of Congress was different than Johnson’s plan, because they worked to improve the lives of African Americans by passing laws in their favor, and expanding their rights. Congress did not care what the South wanted, and expected the South to abide by their rules. On the other hand, Johnson wanted to preserve the nation, and did not want to do anything to anger the South. Moreover, he was a strong believer in states rights, and the idea that the federal government had no right to enforce restrictive laws on the entire country.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. constitution was officially ratified on July 9, 1868 during the reconstruction era. The amendment, along with the 15th and 13th amendments are together, collectively known as the Reconstruction amendments. There was a huge concern that with the increase of representation in Southern states once the three-fifths compromise was no longer in effect would make Southern states more powerful. The Republicans were afraid that the increased Democratic representation from the South would do away with many of the liberties granted to the African-Americans after the war.
At the time the fourteenth Amendment was made, The Civil War had recently arrived at an end, beating the Confederacy. Acting president,Abraham Lincoln, had proclaimed the slaves liberated toward the end of the war; but, there were still a great deal of waiting inquiries with respect to the previous Confederates and the status of slaves in the nation. The Amendment was made to give people below the jurisdiction of the statute the privilege to fairness. This was known as the Equal Protection Clause. At this time, the purpose behind the fourteenth Amendment is to guarantee that the Civil Rights Act was maintained. On the other hand, taking after the selection of the fourteenth Amendment, Supreme Court choices started putting limitations on the
One of the most significant conflicts in the film Lincoln is deciding between peace and passing the thirteenth amendment. For this reason, getting the votes on the amendment to pass is difficult because others think if we let this amendment pass the war will not end. With the Civil War going on year four and the union struggling to keep together, Lincoln decides to try and pass the thirteenth amendment and receive support from the House of Representatives. The thirteenth amendment is the abolishment of slavery and involuntary servitude. Lincoln says that the key to peace is passing this amendment. The only person who truly believes in Lincoln’s vision is Thaddeus Stevens, who was a republican. Stevens did not see eye to eye with Lincoln
In the late 19th Century, Congress approved of three amendments to the Constitution: the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The 13th Amendment ended slavery, the 14th granted citizenship to black people, and the 15th gave them the right to vote. At the same time, multiple Southern state legislatures passed Black Codes. These Black Codes prohibited blacks from renting or buying land, testifying in court, voting in some cases, and made a form of semibondage. Furthermore, these Codes directly violated the newly made amendments to the Constitution. This depicts how the South and their government leaders refused to follow the new amendments that they did not agree with hence revealing that their political views still haven’t changed since the Civil War. Additionally, the Plessy vs Ferguson Supreme Court Case legalized segregation as separate but equal. This showed the unwillingness of the South the fully accept the new amendments, especially the 13th and 14th amendments, and the legalization of blacks into citizens of the state. Michigan Senator Zachariah Chandler complained about this and more particularly Southern representation in Congress. He was outraged that there were 36 members of Congress from the South. He believed that this was against the 14th Amendment, since the South was disenfranchised. He also
The amendment granted the right to vote to all males twenty-one and older. Johnson opposed the amendment on the grounds it did not apply to Southerners who were without any representation in Congress. Tennessee was the only Southern state to ratify the amendment. The others, encouraged in part by Johnson, refused. Moderate voters in the North began leaning toward the Radicals. The Radicals swept the elections of November 1866, resulting in a two-thirds anti-Johnson majority in both the House and Senate. With this majority, three consecutive vetoes by Johnson were overridden by Congress in 1867, thus passing the Military Reconstruction Act, Command of the Army Act, and Tenure of Office Act against his wishes, (Les Benedict 18).
The addition of three amendments to the constitution after the Civil War should be considered to a victory for the Northern and African American cause for the Civil War. These newly added documents protect the rights of all the citizens of the United States. Not only do they protect the rights of these people but they also establish who is a citizen and who is protected by the constitution. Most importantly it allows freedom to those who were mot protected before the Civil War, namely the former slaves.
An understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment begins not in Congress, but in the history leading up to the Civil War. The first crucial story in understanding the Fourteenth Amendment is the striking changes in the law of race relations that took place in the North - especially in Bingham’s home state of Ohio - in the dozen or so years before the Civil War began. The second story is about the South, and the legal repression and brutal racial violence that took place there immediately after the Civil War ended (Finkelman, 2003).
Another cause-of-death of Reconstruction is the fact that the KKK was attacking people based on the political affiliations. For example, Abram Colby, a Radical black legislator,was horrifically whipped and intimidated into not voting in favor of the Radicals. This is a direct infringement on the 14th amendment as well as the 15th Amendment that states all blacks are citizens of the USA and they may not be discriminated against or persecuted. The previously stated act is extremely sorrowful and inconsolable. Therefore, we must forever honor the memory of the Reconstruction Crusade that took place in the United States of
The amendment stated that every person who had been born, or had established themselves in the United States, was to officially be treated as a citizen. This amendment was designed to protect blacks’ rights in Southern states. The states were no longer allowed to reduce the civil liberties of the country’s citizens. This meant that freedmen were recognized as citizens of the United States, and they were to be given the same rights and privileges that had been given to white men. Many Southerners were enraged that African Americans had the opportunity to vote. What angered them even further was the power Congress had to limit the congressional representation of their state if they denied any persons their right to vote based on
In 1867, Congress passed a new Reconstruction Act, that threw out the state governments of states that refused to ratify the 14th amendment. The 15th amendment was ratified in 1870, providing a constitutional guarantee of voting rights for African American males.
Dr. Seuss received his education from Dartmouth College and the Lincoln College of Oxford. While attending Dartmouth College, Dr. Seuss worked as an editor for a humor magazine where his artistic style and creative characters first appeared. He studied English, but
Congress’s plan for Reconstruction included several restrictions placed on the South and those involved in the Confederacy. One of these demands was that each state must write a new constitution that accepts the 14th amendment, which states that the black slaves are now free people. This meant that blacks could take part in things they never used to do before like marry,