The Long Road to Freedom
By Dusty Averbuch
The Amendments
During many times in US history, the government realized that there were problems in the Constitution. Because of this, they decided to make Amendments, to fix the constitution.
The 13th Amendment
After the Civil War, the government passed a law, the 13th Amendment. It said that there will be no slaves in America, and all the Africans were freed. The Southerners got very mad, and started mistreating the former slaves.
The 14th Amendment
Another law that was passed after the Civil War was called the 14th Amendment. It had 3 parts. One part said that if you were born here, you were a citizen. The government has been trying to change it, because if someone illegally enters a country, then they have a child, the child is a citizen of the US. Another part says that everyone deserves due process. This means that before the government can accuse you of anything, or mess with any of you're property, (or you) they must go through a procedure, and have a warrant or go to court. The final part says that everyone deserves equal protection. This means that the government must treat people equally. If Johnny arrests Sally, and throws her into jail without a trial, then arrests Jimmy, but gives him a trial, he is not following equal protection. Any breaking of equal protection or due process results in the victim to be released from jail.
The 15 Amendment
The last Amendment, the 15th stated that all men have the right to vote. They made it very hard for African American men to vote, by giving super hard tests, and scaring them away. Women were not allowed to vote, until 1920.