A History of the Civil Rights Movement

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A History of the Civil Rights Movement

President Andrew Johnson did not want to grant the rights of citizenship to African Americans who were freed after the Civil War. His opposition to the laws passed by those who supported black citizenship led to his impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate.

manage the South,” he declared. But the Black Codes sparked wide spread outrage in the North. It seemed clear that white southerners were trying to keep African Americans in a condition of “involuntary servitude.” The U.S. Congress was determined to stop this. In April 1866, over the objection of President Johnson,

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It granted equal rights of citizenship without regard to race. Federal troops in the South would help ensure that the law was enforced. Congress sought to further guarantee the rights of African Americans with two additional amendments to the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment gave blacks citizenship and said that states couldn’t deny any one equal protection under the law. The amendment was passed by Congress in 1866 and ratified in 1868. The Fifteenth Amendment, passed by Congress in 1869, was ratified the following year. It said that no citizen could be denied the right to vote because of race or because he had previ ously been a slave. Reconstruction appeared to signal the beginning of a brighter future for African Americans. Blacks enjoyed new educational opportunities. Some bought land and started businesses. Most important, African Americans won election to public office at the local, state, and national levels. With political power, blacks could ensure that civil rights remained a focus. There were eight African-American members of the U.S. Congress—seven in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate—when the Civil