In the 1860s, the Civil War was raging. One of the major issues of the war was slavery. For four long years, the North and the South fought. Both sides had many successful battles, such as Fredresicksburk and Gettysburg. Finally, in the spring of 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. Five years after the wars, Congress passed the three amendments 13, 14 and 15. These three amendments sought to restructure the United States from a half-free country to one guaranteeing the benefit of liberty to the entire population, including former slaves and their descendants. These amendments created a spark that led to a series of events that changed America like never before. The 13th Amendment granted freedom to all slaves and abolished slavery or any form of involuntary servitude in America. The 14th Amendment granted made all slaves or native-born people American citizens. The 15th Amendment granted all slaves the right to vote. By making these amendments, the US Congress was trying to end discrimination in the country. These three amendments were intended to restructure the United States from a semi-free country to one guaranteeing the benefit of freedom to the entire population, including former slaves and their descendants. Now that African Americans were free, they had to decide what they were. will do. Some moved north and west, but many remained in the south. They brought together their scattered families and built churches that also served as community centers, employment agencies, and schools. For the first time, blacks... middle of paper ......artin Luther King Jr. as their leader. As minister, he told them not to resort to violence. Soon the government began to get involved in the situation. They began to take different positions in court. They opened all white schools except for black students. In 1957, they passed the Civil Rights Act which created the United States Commission on Civil Rights, charged with investigating civil rights violations. Then Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1964. It banned segregation in public places and gave the government the ability to force school boards to desegregate their schools. The law also allowed the Justice Department to punish people who violated people's rights and prohibited discrimination. Without these three important parts of our constitution, none of this would have been possible, and the world would not be what it is today..