14th+Amendment

__** The Passing of the 14th Amendment:[[image:asdflkjh.jpg width="185" height="230" align="right"]] **__

 * ===The amendment was passed June 8 and 13 [by both houses of Congress], 1866 and ratified July 9, 1868===
 * ===Amendment would provide basic rights to all citizens regardless of race or other minority factors===
 * ===Passed by a 3/4 majority===

__Goals of the Amendment:__

 * ===To provide equal legal rights to all U.S. citizens, such as due process of law given by the 5th amendment===
 * ===To aid reconstruction efforts by providing some semblance of equality among American citizens===
 * ===To prevent unfair laws from being created and effecting non-white citizens [as well as any minorities]===

__Responses to the Amendment:__
> ======
 * ===Southern states were furious and refused to ratify===
 * ===Radical Republicans imposed ratification on Southern states that resisted through martial law- these were called the Reconstruction Acts of 1867===
 * ===//Arguments Supporting Amendment://===
 * ===The 14th Amendment ensures fair laws===
 * ===Leads to full suffrage for all citizens===
 * ===Promotes equality among citizens===
 * ===Major supporters include Thaddeus Stevins and Charles Sumner===
 * ===//Arguments Against Amendment//===
 * ===Collapse economy due to unemployment===
 * ===Freedmen would get too much legal power===
 * ===Too much money being spent on supporting free slaves [such as education and the building of homes]===
 * ===Major dissenters include wealthy, white Southern citizens, as well as President Andrew Johnson===

__Effects on Civil War Reconstruction:__

 * ===Granted U.S. Citizens all equal rights in court without discrimination===
 * ===Demonstrated power of Federal gov't to assert its authority over State gov'ts===
 * ===Amendment disallowed state discrimination on the matters of Federal laws and amendments===
 * ===Created some level of equality among citizens, however did not help to appease racism===
 * ===Contributed to the success of the Reconstruction by supporting equality and creating somewhat a sense of unity throughout the nation===

==="14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)." //Library of Congress Home//. Web. 05 July 2011. [].===