Second Founding Quiz

according to Foner, what ways could slavery be abolished?

individual manumission, emancipation by legal means, or military emancipation

how did the Fourteenth Amendment change the definition of citizenship?

Citizenship now meant that everyone (blacks and whites) had equal liberties.

when did the "Second Founding" begin?

Foner notes that the 13th amendment was the first to expand the power of the federal government, this began the 'Second Founding' and its ratification in 1865 brought about the "final, irrevocable abolition of slavery."

what exemptions from the prohibition of involuntary servitude did the 13th amendment provide?

Part of the wording of the 13th amendment made it able to find loopholes. For example, a person convicted of a crime could be enslaved as a punishment for that crime, so in the South they would arrest African Americans for anything to punish them with servitude.

according to Foner, why was a Constitutional Amendment necessary to end slavery?

Partially because the emancipation proclamation had a lot of holes. In other words, there were ways it could be reversed by other presidents and it did not end the institution of slavery but just the slaves that were currently enslaved.

how did the Fourteenth Amendment introduce gender into the Constitution?

The 14th Amendment applied to all people, even women. By not using the word male, the amendment allowed for an opportunity for women's suffrage.

what was the role of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 in paving the way for the 14th Amendment?

The Civil Rights act challenged racial inequality. It also severed the tie between citizenship and race which applied to the whole country

according to Foner, how did southern states weaken the enforcement of the 15th Amendment after its ratification?

They enforced poll tax, literacy tests. Southern states passed black codes after the war to keep any freedmen from exercising their rights.

13th amendment

abolished slavery

according to Foner, what "political lessons" resulted from the Dunning Schools interpretation of Reconstruction and how did this affect court decisions related to the Reconstruction Amendments?

biracial democracy was impossible, reconstruction was imposed on the south by northerners, because reconstruction was brought into existence by the republican party the white south should remain democratic, these gave shape and meaning to white supremacist politics

according to Foner, what was the major problem that the 15th Amendment attempted to solve?

black voting rights

14th amendment

declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws

according to Foner, what was the citizenship status of African Americans (whether enslaved or free) before the Civil War?

even the "free" slaves were not fully free

15th amendment

granted African American men the right to vote

according to Foner, have black Americans ever enjoyed all of the "promise" of the Fourteenth Amendment?

no

before the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment what level of government decided who was qualified to vote?

state governments

how do these amendments differ from the Bill of Rights?

the Bill of Rights did not specify the protection and implementation of personal liberties, did not define "citizenship"

what ended the Dunning School and led historians to revise their interpretation of Reconstruction?

the civil rights revolution

according to Foner, how did courts often choose to interpret the amendments that resulted from the "Second Founding" after it ended?

they appealed to it almost daily for all sorts of rights claims

according to Foner, how has the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment been used in the long-term?

they apply it to discrimination based on gender

according to Foner why did the addition of these amendments to the Constitution after the Civil War constitutes a "second founding?"

they were designed to ensure equality for emancipated slaves

according to Foner, how did the demise of the Dunning School change how historians view Reconstruction?

this era was tragic and a key moment in the history of democracy and as a setback for the democratic principle in the US and throughout the world