I. Reconstruction

13th Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified in 1865 that abolished slavery in the United States, except as punishment for a crime. It matters because it formally ended the institution of slavery and created the foundation for the legal freedom of approximately four million formerly enslaved people.

14th Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified in 1868 that established birthright citizenship and guaranteed equal protection and due process under the law. It matters because it established important constitutional protections for formerly enslaved people and became a foundation for later civil rights efforts.

15th Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified in 1870 that prohibited denying a man's right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It matters because it gave Black men a constitutional basis for voting and political participation during Reconstruction, although Southern states later used other methods to disenfranchise Black voters.

Reconstruction

The period from 1865 to 1877 when the federal government attempted to rebuild the South and establish political and civil rights for formerly enslaved people. It matters because it produced major constitutional changes and Black political participation but was ultimately weakened by white resistance, violence, and the withdrawal of federal protection.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist organization founded during Reconstruction that used intimidation and violence against Black Americans and their political allies. It matters because Klan violence was used to undermine Black voting, political participation, and the broader goals of Reconstruction.

Colfax Massacre

An 1873 violent attack in Louisiana in which a white supremacist group killed Black men defending a local courthouse. It matters because it demonstrated the violent resistance to Reconstruction and Black political participation in the South.