If someone takes your property without your permission then the judge and the person the property was taken from has the right to say what property was his or hers. The law did not help the government maintain order because it was hard to prove the property had originally been yours and there were not punishments for stealing, they simply had to return the items.
The 14th Amendment<span> to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed.</span>
I'm not sure of his name, but it might have been Darius. If you want more info, search 'Gordian Knot'. There was supposedly a prophecy at the time stating that whoever could untie this immensely complicated knot that tied the king's horse yolk to his chariot would rule over Persia. When Alexander saw the knot he sliced it in two with his sword instead of trying to untie it. I'm pretty sure Darius (or whatever his name was)
