Read passages from the three constitutional amendments ratified shortly after the end of the Civil War. 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.

–Thirteenth Amendment

No State . . . shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person . . . the equal protection of the laws.

–Fourteenth Amendment

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.

–Fifteenth Amendment

What was the impact of these amendments on the South during the Reconstruction era?

White southerners began to embrace the concept of racial integration.
A healthy two-party political system emerged in the South.
White southerners welcomed African American voters to the polls.
Hundreds of African Americans were elected to political office.