The reconstruction amendments were passed to:

The reconstruction put an end to the remnants of Confederate nationalism and put an end to slavery, making the new slaves free citizens with civil rights seemingly guaranteed by three new constitutional amendments. Three visions of the memory of the civil war appeared during Reconstruction: the vision of reconciliation, which was rooted in coping with death and the devastation of war had brought; the vision of white supremacy, which included terror and violence; and the vision of emancipation, which sought full freedom, citizenship and constitutional equality for African Americans.