The Radical Republicans drafted the Reconstruction Amendments to grant equality to newly freed African Americans. However, despite this southern states found ways to limit African American rights. In a paragraph, choose one amendment and analyze how its intended purpose. Make sure to include what Radical Republicans wanted the amendment to do and then how it was changed in reality.

Answer 1

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, was a cornerstone of the Radical Republicans' efforts to ensure equality for newly freed African Americans. The Radical Republicans intended the amendment to guarantee citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, and to provide equal protection under the law. They aimed to dismantle the legal framework of white supremacy that had persisted in the South and to safeguard the rights of African Americans against discrimination. However, in reality, southern states employed a range of restrictive measures, such as Black Codes and later Jim Crow laws, to undermine the amendment's protections. These laws enforced racial segregation and disenfranchisement, effectively negating the intended provisions of the 14th Amendment. As a result, despite the constitutional guarantee of equality, many African Americans continued to face systemic discrimination and were denied their rights well into the 20th century.