1. Warm-up: What is discrimination?
What do you think can be done to stop it?

2. Reconstruction Legislation
& State Opposition

3. Acts (laws)
A series of Federal Acts were passed to address civil rights of African Americans
13th Amendment freed the slaves
Civil Rights Act of 1866 –all persons born in US were declared citizens and received equal benefit of all laws
14th Amendment 1868—same as Civil Rights Act 1866
Reconstruction Act of 1867—military districts, new state constitutions & ratify 14th Amendment
15th Amendment—right to vote not denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
Civil Rights Act 1875 (Enforcement Act)—no racial discrimination in juries, schools, transportation, and public accommodations (tried to counter what KKK was doing)

4. Advancing Democracy Ideals & Institutions
13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were part of program to ensure civil rights for African Americans
Freedom, Citizenship and Voting for African Americans advance American ideals of democracy
When the Acts did not seem to be enough, the Federal government attempted to provide rights to African Americans by adding Amendments to the Constitution
Women also fought for voting rights during Reconstruction but were still unsuccessful.

6. State Opposition
Black Codes—severely restricted freedom of the freedmen and put them at the mercy of whites
Ku Klux Klan—tried to suppress and victimize the newly freed slaves
Jim Crow Laws—state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in southern US states—in effect until 1965

7. Supreme Court Played role in ending Reconstruction
1873 Slaughterhouse Cases
1876 U.S. vs. Reese
1876 U.S. vs. Cruikshank
Placed control of individual’s basic civil rights in the hand of the states
Limited the federal government’s ability too protect the civil and voting rights of African Americans

8. Activity:
My Windsor website, your class page, yesterday’s date 10/ Amendment & Black Codes Readings & questions