 |
| from http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/gridlock-blame-the-constitution/14912/united-states-constitution-3/ |
AMENDMENT XIII
Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.
Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment.
Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
AMENDMENT XIV
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.
Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 14th amendment.
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,* and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. *changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment.
AMENDMENT XV
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude--
Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
(from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html)
 |
| from http://keyconversationsradio.com/key-conversations-radio/ |
Consider the 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments from the U.S. Constitution.
How do the facts presented
on this page affirm, challenge, or change your understanding of American
culture (inclusive of race relations), the power of the U.S. Constitution,
and/or citizen rights? You may incorporate examples from Dr.
Melynda Price's lecture.
Today's lecture presented by Dr. Price was very enlightening. The thing that stood out to me the most was the convict lease system. I had learned about this system of forced labor before but I had never thought of how this system is still continuing today. I found it interesting how Dr. Price pointed out how many prisons in the south are called "farms" and throughout the country, prison labor is common.
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to hear the lecture on the amendments today because I have never heard that specific angle being taught. Dr. Price even mentioned the fact that we've been taught over and over again certain things about history, and often they are lies. The applications of the 13th Amendment sparked a thought as well. I had never been taught the specifics of this amendment, for example: Not only did the 13th Amendment end slavery, but it ended all vestiges of slavery-anything that might make it seem as though one is under the hold of slavery. That caught my attention because I am very passionate about human trafficking awareness. Slavery still exists today. And even passed the moral wrongness of modern human trafficking, there is an amendment that still holds authority over it. It's interesting to think that there is still slavery present-day, but the writers of this amendment probably only thought the liberation was for chattel slavery.
ReplyDeleteAwesome presentation that open my mind to a lot of things. The amendments were created to open opportunity for black people, but only did it to a certain extent, which is pathetic. Also when Dr. Price talked about the rule that if an African-American was to commit a crime or even something minor, punishment was actually to send the individual back to the plantation for labor work. Just hearing things like shows that white people back then honestly think that's where African-Americans belonged, despite already being freed. Honestly, I feel as if some white people think like that today, but just in a different form. But time and time again, black people always overcome adversity and rise to the top.
ReplyDeleteDr. Price's presentation was great! It definitely affirmed my understanding of the hypocritical nature of this country. I think it's interesting that when learning the constitution in school, I've never thought too critically about it, or really digested its rhetoric and subsequently its affects on the history of the US. I also appreciate that she made comparisons between 'then and now' and how human trafficking and the prison industrial system can be paralleled to certain institutions of history.
ReplyDelete