The Reconstruction Period The debate over reconstruction ... United States History Mrs.Fynn Grade 11 History Report Written BY: Anicasia Perez September 30,2016 Occurring between the years 1863-1877,was a period of rebuilding; in which we know of today as The Reconstruction period. In determining whether the Reconstruction was a success or failure to the freedmen, one must assess the extent in which the lives of the freedmen had been altered by the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction was a success due to it resulting in restoring the United States as a unified nation; by 1877, all of the former Confederate states had created new constitutions, as well as acknowledged the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, and pledged their loyalty to the …show more content…
This amendment granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed by the Thirteenth Amendment. In addition to granting citizenship, it forbids states from denying anyone "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” no matter who they were. The 14th Amendment expanded the protection of civil rights tremendously to all Americans no matter color or race and is cited in more litigations than any other amendment of the United States today. On June 22, 1866, precisely fourteen days after the senate passed the Fourteenth Amendment, President Andrew Johnson issued a message to Congress announcing that the Fourteenth Amendment had been sent to the states for ratification. Johnson voiced his negative opinion of the amendment by stating that his actions should "be considered as purely ministerial, and in no sense whatever committing the Executive to an approval or a recommendation of the amendment to the State legislatures or to the