Reconstruction

Reconstruction,the period that followed the civil war is the most controversial era in American history. One of the major historical turning points out of this era was the passage of the 13th amnendment. Passed by congress in 1865, the 13th amendment emanciapated the slaves.In addition to ending slavery,and all forms of involuntary servitude,the amendment also stipulated in its second section that congress shall have power ton enforce this article by appropriate legislation.Another turning point was the passage of Black Codes by southern state legislatures immediately after the civil war that defined and regulated the legal status of the emancipated slaves.The laws were so discriminatory and restrictive that they convinced many northerners that the federal government needed to take an active role in establishing and protecting blsck civil rights.Black codes recognized certain minial rights of freed slaves. The right to acquire and hold property,enter inrto legal marriages,make contracts and sue and be sued,,but the codes regulated blacks to a separate and inferior legal status.They could not vote,hold public office,serve on juries won firearms,enlist in the military,or testify in court cases involindg whites.Many of the codes also placed restrictionson the rights of blacks to assemble in public meetings , and mve about freely.The civil rights act of 1866 granted all citizens manadatory rights regardless of race.With the passage of the fourteenth amendment,in 1868 declaring that any person orn or naturalized in the u.s was an American citizen deserving equal protection of the law,This granted full citizenship to all black people.During this period, Lincoln was assassinated. This period may have taken a different turn. The government would have been ran by each state, and congress would not have a say in the right of the people.The industrial revolution brought about change in the way goods and sild. The expansion of the railroad made it possible to move good...