13th to 19th Amendments and Beyond

Celebration of the emancipation of southern slaves with the end of the Civil War. Wood engraving printed on woven paper.

Library of Congress

1865
Everyone
The Civil War ended. The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, legally abolishing slavery in the United States. Learn which state was the last to ratify the amendment.

1865-66
African American
Black codes were enacted throughout the south to limit the rights of African Americans and reestablish white supremacy in the south. Learn more about the black codes.

1866
African American
The first Ku Klux Klan chapter was organized in Tennessee, with the goal of preserving white supremacy. Activity quickly spread across the south. Learn more about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.

1868
Everyone
The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified granting equal protection under the law and citizenship to all persons born in the United States, including former slaves. Learn more about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

1870
Everyone
The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified granting all adult males the right to vote. Though African Americans were granted the vote, they were prevented from voting in much of the United States. Southern states were required to ratify the 15th Amendment in order to rejoin the Union.

 

"The First Vote," print from a wood engraving by A.R. Waud published in Harper's Weekly November 16, 1867.

Library of Congress

1870
Everyone
The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified granting all adult males the right to vote. Though African Americans were granted the vote, they were prevented from voting in much of the United States. Southern states were required to ratify the 15th Amendment in order to rejoin the Union.

1881
African American
Tennessee adopted the first "Jim Crow" segregation law in the south. Other states soon followed. Learn more about the rise and fall of Jim Crow.

1877
Everyone
Federal commitment to civil rights enforcement came to an end as Reconstruction ended and federal troops withdrew from the south. Learn how a presidential election contributed to this withdrawal.

1882
Asian American
Fueled by anti-Chinese sentiment, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed, prohibiting the immigration and naturalization of Chinese immigrants to the United States. Here are a few case files from the Chinese Exclusion Act.

1886
Everyone
Chinese laundrymen win Yick Wo v. Hopkins, when the US Supreme Court declared that a law with unequal impact on different groups is discriminatory. Read about Wo's laundry and the Fourteenth Amendment.

1887
Native American
The Dawes Act was passed, ostensibly designed to integrate American Indians, but resulted in the loss of tribal lands through sales to non-Indians. Learn more about the effects of the Dawes Act.

 

"The Awakening," illustration shows a torch-bearing female labeled "Votes for Women", symbolizing the awakening of the nation's women to the desire for suffrage, photmechanical print by Henry Mayer, 1915.

Library of Congress

1890
Women
Wyoming was the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to vote. More states soon passed similar legislation. Read about Esther Hobart Morris, a pioneer in the American woman's suffrage movement.

1896
African American
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated "separate but equal" intrastate public transportation was constitutional. With the court's sanction, southern states began even more widespread segregation. Learn more about the plan to challenge the Separate Car Act in Louisiana.

1908
African American
In Berea College v. Kentucky the US Supreme Court ruled that the state had a right to force integrated Berea College to segregate, despite the school's objections. Read more about Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissent from the majority decision.

 

Volume 1, Number 1 of The Crisis, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People monthly magazine.

Newseum Collection

1909
African American
National Associated for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded. Watch as historian Risa Goluboff explains the creation of the NAACP.

1913
Everyone
Woodrow Wilson became president and segregated the federal government. Learn about Postmaster General Albert Burleson's argument for segregating the Railway Mail Service.

1915
Everyone
In Guinn v. United States, the US Supreme Court ruled Oklahoma's "grandfather clause" voting restriction on African Americans unconstitutional. Fred Guinn, an election officer, was convicted of violating federal election laws by denying African Americans the right to vote.

 

Lieutenant James Reese Europe returned with his regiment the 369th Infantry, World War I. Photo, 1919.

National Archives and Records Administration

1917
African American
The United States entered the First World War. Nearly 400,000 African Americans served in the war. Though some African Americans distinguished themselves in combat, Africans Americans often were forced to serve in labor and stevedore battalions and were not usually allowed in combat roles. Learn more about the Harlem Hellfighters and their role in World War I.

1919
African American
Race violence, known as "Red Summer," occurred across the country as African American servicemen returned from the First World War.

1920
Women
The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted, granting women the right to vote.

1921
African American
A race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, resulted in over $1 million worth of property damage and the deaths of at least 30 people. Topeka lawyer Elisha Scott went to Tulsa to give legal assistance to African Americans.

1922
Asian American
In Ozawa v. United States, the US Supreme Court ruled that Japanese were ineligible for US citizenship.

 

"Whites Gather for Miles to Slay Negroes" headline on front page article, Taunton Daily Gazette, Massachusetts, January 5, 1923.

Timothy Hughes Rare and Early Newspapers

1923
African American
Rosewood, Florida, a mainly African American community, was completely destroyed by a white mob who murdered many residents. Learn more about the Rosewood community and why the story was hidden for 60 years.