The Reconstruction Era

The Reconstruction Era was a period of American history that lasted from 1865 to 1877, during which the Union was reunited and the Confederate states were readmitted to the Union.

The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including African Americans.

The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1870, prohibited states from depriving citizens of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Hiram Revels was the first African American to serve in the United States Congress. He was elected to the Senate from Mississippi in 1870.

The Freedmen's Bureau was a federal agency created in 1865 to help enforce the rights of African Americans during the Reconstruction Era.

The Ku Klux Klan, White League, and Knights of the White Camellia were all white supremacist terrorist groups that opposed Reconstruction.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was a federal law that was passed in 1875 to protect the civil rights of African Americans.

In United States v. Cruikshank, the Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional.

The Jim Crow Era, Black Codes Era, and Redemption Era were all periods of time after the Reconstruction Era when white Southerners regained control of the South and African Americans were subjected to segregation and discrimination.

The Civil Rights Movement, Black Power Movement, and Black Lives Matter Movement were all movements to end segregation and discrimination against African Americans in the United States.

In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a federal law that was passed in 1964 to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a federal law that was passed in 1965 to prohibit discrimination in voting.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 was a federal law that was passed in 1991 to strengthen the Civil Rights Act of 1964.