13.3 . Protecting Civil Rights. The 15 th Amendment. In 1870 the 15 th Amendment was ratified which ensured that no one could be denied the right to vote because of their race, color or condition of previous servitude
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13.3
Protecting Civil Rights
The 15th Amendment In 1870 the 15th Amendment was ratified which ensured that no one could be denied the right to vote because of their race, color or condition of previous servitude This law didn’t protect voters against literacy tests, poll taxes or property qualifications which could disenfranchise many African Americans
The Enforcement Acts In response to the terrorism of the of the KKK in the South, Congress passed the Enforcement Acts in 1870-71 These acts outlawed disguises and masks and protected the civil rights of citizens The 1871 act became known as the Ku Klux Klan Act and made it a federal offense to interfere with someone’s right to vote, hold office, serve on a jury or enjoy equal protection under the law
The Enforcement Acts Hundreds of Klansmen were arrested- 700 in Mississippi alone President Grant also sent troops into S. Carolina’s up country and declared martial law in 9 counties Mass arrests and trials followed, but the government permitted many Klansmen to escape prosecution if they confessed to the crime Some men were tried and convicted but relatively few compared to the seriousness and enormity of their crimes
The North Loses Interest By the mid 1870’s corruption and economic issues became the dominant concerns in Congress and less and less attention was paid to civil rights in the south The Panic of 1873- a financial crisis which sent the country into an economic slump for several years led people to lose faith in the Republicans The Democrats won a majority in Congress for the first time since 1860 and took power in several Northern states
The Freedmen’s Bank One casualty to the financial crisis was the Freedmen’s Savings Bank which failed in 1874 It had been started to by Congress but was not a part of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Nonetheless many African Americans had invested money in it and when it collapsed freedmen in the South lost over $1 million in savings
The Civil Rights Act 1875 Before Reconstruction ended Congress made one final gesture to protect black civil rights The Civil Rights Act of 1875 which was intended to end segregation in public accommodations However, the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional. They said that the 14th amendment protected African Americans from state discrimination, but not from private businesses
Questions 1. What is the purpose of the 15th amendment? 2. What were the Enforcement Acts? 3. How did many Klansmen dodge punishment for their crimes? 4. Why did the North lose interest in Reconstruction? 5. What were the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875? What impact did the law have?