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The Reconstruction Amendments are the Constitutional Amendments that deal with the aftermath of the American Civil War. They include the 13th Amendment, the 14th Amendment, and the 15th Amendment, which were passed within five years following the Civil War, starting from 1865. The intent behind the Amendments was to abolish slavery in the United States de jure, give human rights to former slaves, and eventually enfranchise them.
Despite their legal significance, the Amendments failed to eradicate discrimination that African-American people, women, in particular, continued to face (White, 2017). While it may be true that the Amendments managed to address the precursors of the Civil War, they were inefficient in changing the mentality of people (Griffin, 2020). There was also hesitation in those who promoted the changes, as they could not establish African-American people as full-fledged citizens with a single amendment. On the other hand, almost 60 years passed between the 12th Amendment and the 13th Amendment. The relatively small time frame within which the Reconstruction Amendments were ratified was, perhaps, due to the frequent meetings of African-American people demanding equal rights (Foner, 2019).
In conclusion, The Reconstruction Amendments contributed to equality in the United States on the legal level. The passing of the Amendments still could not erase the racial bias against African-American people. There was much hesitation to acknowledge their rights before and even after the Civil War. It would take almost a century after the 15th Amendment for the rights of African-American people to be reaffirmed.
References
Foner, E. (2019). The second founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction remade the constitution. W. W. Norton Company.
Griffin, S. M. (2020). Optimistic originalism and the Reconstruction amendments. Tulane Public Law Research Paper, 20(3). Web.
White, R. (2017). The republic for which it stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896. Oxford University Press.
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