Read passages from the three constitutional amendments ratified shortly after the end of the Civil War. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

–Thirteenth Amendment

No State . . . shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person . . . the equal protection of the laws.

–Fourteenth Amendment

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

–Fifteenth Amendment

The most important objective of these amendments was to
punish the former states of the Confederacy for passing Jim Crow laws.
guarantee and protect the citizenship and civil rights of African Americans.
ensure that the Republicans would remain the dominant party nationwide.
establish military rule over the former states of the Confederacy.