Civil Rights For All Americans

Civil rights define political and social freedom at par for all citizens. Initially, American civil rights were affected by the thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen constitutional amendments. For instance, the thirteenth amendment exempted people within the American jurisdiction from slavery or involuntary labor, except as a penalty for a conviction. The fourteenth amendment granted citizenship to everyone born or established in America. The fifteenth amendment imparted all African American men the power to participate in national elections through voting. Hence, the thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen constitutional amendments affected the civil rights of Americans.

Congress circumvented the three amendments during the reconstruction period after the civil war. Notably, the congress had more power than the president during that time; hence, the congress efficiently amended the constitutional (Whittington & Carpenter, 2003). The circumvention was among the results of the South joining North to help through the reconstruction. Initially, the South was reluctant to join North, since their states, farms, and property were affected more during the Civil War.

The Civil rights granted by the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth constitutional amendments guaranteed American inhabits their freedom. The thirteenth amendment freed slaves from their masters, the fourteenth amendment guaranteed citizenship for all people born or established in America, and the fifteenth amendment guaranteed African American men the freedom to vote. Hence, the three constitutional amendments were a guarantee to all Americans. However, African Americans and other non-native Americans were the most significant beneficiaries of the amendments. That is, most were slaves, non-citizens, and were not allowed to vote. Therefore, the amendments guaranteed civil rights for all Americans, including the former non-American Inhabitants.

References

Whittington, K. E., & Carpenter, D. P. (2003). Executive Power in American Institutional Development. Perspectives on Politics, 1(03), 495–513. doi: 10.1017/s1537592703000367