Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Context

In 1861 the Lincoln administration and Congress declared that the goal of the Civil War was to restore the Union and that slavery was not to be disturbed. By mid-1862 President Lincoln had changed his mind, to the delight of abolitionists and the grudging acceptance of many frustrated northerners. His Emancipation Proclamation and the subsequent Thirteenth Amendment ended the institution. Nevertheless, with the capitulation of the Confederacy in the spring of 1865, the government faced numerous unprecedented questions that the Constitution was unable to answer. Foremost among the uncertainties were, first, the requirements and procedures for readmitting the Confederate states into the Union and, second, the status of the freed slaves. The absence of the politically astute Abraham Lincoln complicated the resolution of these problems.

President Andrew Johnson certainly did not shy away from the task, but his stubbornness allowed for little consultation with Republican congressional leaders. The former Democrat from Tennessee demanded that southern states renounce their Confederate debts and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. He had little interest in any other steps to assist the freed slaves and was content to leave their progress to state action. Johnson also used presidential pardons to restore some prominent Confederates to political life. He then permitted the obedient ex-Confederate states to elect state officials as well as representatives and senators to Congress.

The Republican-dominated Thirty-ninth Congress, which first met December 4, 1865, would have none of this. Individual southern states aggravated the situation by enacting so-called Black Codes, which significantly circumscribed the economic and social freedoms of former slaves. At this time political rights were not contemplated by many in the North or South. To counter the Black Codes, Congress passed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Act in February 1866 to give the freed slaves educational and economic opportunities and to guarantee basic civil rights. Johnson vetoed both. Although Congress overrode both vetoes, Republican congressmen concluded that they needed to take a greater initiative to restore the Union and protect African Americans. A constitutional amendment (or series of amendments) seemed the most effective device to remedy the situation and to prevent future legislation from undermining their gains.