Also known as the ‘Reconstruction Amendments’, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the constitution all passed between 1865 and 1870. They were a response to the civil war, guaranteeing the abolition of slavery, additional equally distributed rights, and suffrage. The 14th amendment has generated more cases reaching the supreme court than all the other amendments combined.
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” -Section 1, Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” -Section 1, Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
“Fairly construed, these amendments may be said to rise to the dignity of a new Magna Carta.” - Supreme Court Justice Noah Swayne, The Slaughterhouse Cases, 83 U.S. 36 (1872) (Swayne, J., dissenting).