Reconstruction Laws & Constitutional Amendments

Thirteenth Amendment

(December 1865) Prohibited Slavery

Civil Rights Act of 1866

(April 1866) Defined citizenship rights to freedmen; anyone violating those rights will be prosecuted by the federal authorites

Fourteenth Amendment

(June 1866) Established national citizenship for person’s born or naturalized in U.S.; Prohibited the states from depriving citizens of their civil rights or equal protection; Reduced state representation in House of Representatives

Reconstruction Act of 1867

(March 1867) Divided the south into five military districts, each under the command of a union general; Established requirements for readmission of ex-confederate states to the Union

Tenure of Office Act

(March 1867) Required senate consent for removal of any federal official whose appointment had required senate confirmation

Fifteenth Amendment

(February 1869) Forbade states to deny citizens the right to vote on the grounds of race, color, or “previous condition of servitude”

Ku Klux Klan Act

(April 1871) Authorized the president to use federal prosecutions and military force to suppress conspiracies (KKK) to deprive citizens of the right to vote and enjoy equal protection of the law