Reconstruction Amendments - Essay Example

Reconstruction Amendments Introduction 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 (Franklin 10).

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 Reconstruction 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). The citizenship clause holds it that all individuals born or naturalized in the United States and are subject to the jurisdiction are citizens of the United States as well as the state they reside in.

This amendment is also significant in that it forbids any state from making any law that abridges the United States citizens’ privileges or immunities. The second clause is the due process clause which prevents the state and the local governments from interfering with individual’s life, freedom or property without following specific terms for fairness. The significance of ratifying this clause was that it ensured the bill of rights was applicable to the all states and that it recognized the substantive as well as the procedural rights.

This clause has been important today as it provides for protection of the private contracts and eliminates various regulations which limited the individual’s freedom of contract according to Collins (38). For instance the court eliminated exploitative laws such as the law which stated maximum hours that a worker in a bakery was supposed to work. It also eliminated a minimum wage law which was denying workers their rights. Thus the ratification of this amendment was of far much significant to the citizens of United States especially the blacks.

The equal protection clause requires each state to offer all individuals within its jurisdiction equal protection. The ratification of the amendment according to this clause was important as it led to dismantling of racial segregation which was rampant in the United States. Initially the blacks were barred from the juries and the Chinese Americans were denied access to laundry businesses. However after the ratifications were made, the Supreme Court required states to impose segregation if only they offered similar facilities hence the doctrine of separate but equal.

Conclusion The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the US constitution have greatly impacted on civil liberties in so far as people of different color and race (non-whites) are treated in the country. The amendments have seen nationals live in freedom as opposed to servitude as was the case before and during the civil war. The fourteenth amendment ratification bought with it significant changes in the American constitution as well as citizens. However it appears to be misinterpreted and used too narrowly by many citizens.

This is because the amendment has been used to grant citizenship to children belonging to illegal or alien parents but born in the United States. This is being done to ensure that when the children reach the majority age, they are able to bring their extended families in the United States so they can obtain citizenship. Works Cited Collins, Charles. The Fourteenth Amendment and the states: a study of the operation of the restraint clauses of section one of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. (2004). New Jersey. Franklin John. The Reconstruction amendments: the end of the beginning. New Jersey Civil War Centennial Commission. 1964. Print