Although Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, enacted in 1862,
             intended freedom for all slaves, it did not completely eliminate slavery.
             The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution
             were adopted after the Civil War as attempts to end discrimination. In
             short, the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment
             declared that African Americans were citizens of the United States and were
             therefore allowed equal protection under the law, and the Fifteenth
             Amendment guaranteed African Americans the right to vote.
             Essentially, the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery on paper--however,
             racism could not be erased so easily from the public's mindset. This
             mindset was especially prevalent in the South. Many laws regarding
             segregation and the Thirteenth Amendment were simply ignored. In fact,
             many Southern states adopted their own black codes as a means of getting
             around the amendment. These codes restricted African Americans from owning
             property, from making certain purchases, and from having a job, and
             sometimes from even seeking work. The Thirteenth Amendment did not erase
             all racial problems by any means. In fact, African Americans were
             prevented from holding public offices, they were not allowed to vote, nor
             were they able to purchase land. Interestingly, the issue of voting was
             one that never reached the High Court and, as a result, many African
             Americans were not allowed their share of offices. (Norton 450). Although
             the Thirteenth Amendment did abolish slavery, it did not guarantee basic
             citizenship rights to all individuals that were born in America.
             The Fourteenth amendment was an act by the Joint Committee on
             Reconstruction to prevent "unrepentant Confederates from taking over the
             reconstructed state governments and denying blacks basic freedoms"
             (Davidson 611). The Fourteenth Amendment is often seen as the "heart of
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