The Reconstruction Amendments

In this lecture, professor David Wrobel places the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) into the context of the political struggles of the 1860s and into the longer history of amendments to the Constitution. He concludes with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which placed the weight of federal power behind the 14th and 15th Amendments, respectively.