Good The 13th, 14th, And 15th Amendment Essay Example

The 13th Amendment put an end to slavery once and for all when it declared that slavery was no longer permitted throughout the United States and all of its territories. This applied to not only slavery, but to involuntary servitude as well. The only exception to this would be if it were implemented as a form of punishment for crimes that were clearly legislated as such. The Amendment also included the granting of all power necessary to the Congress in the process of enforcing this legislation regarding any situations involving the enslavement of free people. This was necessary because Lincoln believed that it was necessary to address the issue of slavery and set a legislative motion that would abolish it completely. The Amendment accomplished what it was meant to do by freeing slaves, but it did not serve to abolish slavery as Lincoln intended.
The 14th Amendment stated that every person born in the U.S. would be guaranteed citizenship in the United States as well as the State where they chose to live. It took away any power that the State might have previously had in the legislation or enforcement of laws that would place limitations on the given privileges or natural immunities of any citizen in the U.S. In addition, no State would be able to remove any citizen of life, freedom, or property, and all citizens were given equal protection of the laws. The 14th Amendment was necessary because it secured and protected the rights of all citizens, particularly the slaves who were freed after the Civil War. It was not entirely effective in what it had intended to do because the Supreme Court began to place limitations on the Equal Protection Clause, but it accomplished what it set out to do by setting a motion of securing the notion that all citizens were created equal under the law regardless of race.
The 15th Amendment stated that former slaves would be given the right to vote. It removed any suffrage laws that had previously discriminated persons on the basis of race. This would be the last of the three “Civil War Amendments,” which would promote the equality of all U.S. citizens despite past history of slavery or racism. Unfortunately, most southern states bypassed the stipulations of this law by continuing to prevent blacks from voting. The 15th Amendment was necessary because it would secure one of the most basic rights of freed blacks. However, it did not always set out to do what it intended because of a myriad of discriminatory practices continued to be used against blacks in their attempts to vote.