Freedom For All

Paper Summary:

This paper studies the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The paper discusses the original intent of the amendment, which was enacted to prevent Southern states from preventing the freeing of slaves. The author then focuses on the second section of the amendment, extending full citizenship -- i.e. the right to vote -- to the former slaves. The paper studies the motivating factors for Northern and Southern legislators' votes.

From the Paper:

"Following the Civil War the South resisted all attempts to free the slaves and grant them equal citizenship, even after the passing of the 13th Amendment. The southern states claimed that since they never legally left the Union, that once they voted for Congressmen and Senators they should have equal representation. The problem was the newly freed slaves did not have the right to vote in most southern states, because the newly elected governing bodies of these states passed a series of laws preventing them from working on equal terms and other aspects free white men shared."

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