African
American Citizenship and Suffrage
However, two concrete steps
forward did not mean that Lucretia Mott could retire from her efforts on behalf
of blacks. Just because the Thirteenth
Amendment was ratified did not mean that blacks would be treated with respect,
let alone treated as the equals of whites.
In fact, a new hurdle now stood in front of Mott and her abolitionist
friends--blacks needed a fresh start in America, including basic rights such as
citizenship and suffrage. Just as she
had opened she and her husband’s home as a haven for slaves traveling the
Underground Railroad before emancipation,[21]
now she helped blacks get on their feet after emancipation by giving them
practical items such as school supplies.[22] She also joined the suffrage movement that
petitioned for the right of blacks to vote.[23] Soon, these efforts proved fruitful as
well. In July of 1868 the Fourteenth
Amendment would be ratified, making all blacks citizens of the United
States. Then the Fifteenth Amendment
was ratified February of 1870, providing voting rights to blacks. Years of work entrenched in the belief of
egalitarianism culminated in the passage of these constitutional amendments and
therefore, in a major change in American society.
This page was created by Leah Aubrey.
mailto:laubrey0@georgetowncollege.edu
This page was last updated on 2/23/01.
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