Following the Civil War, there were a series of debates in Congress to pass new Amendments that recognized the basic liberties of all races, especially of African Americans who had been harshly mistreated and discriminated for years. <u>The first Amendment that congressmen finally achieved to ratify was the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude for all races. </u>This Amendment was followed by the 14th and the 15th Amendments that guaranteed citizen's equal protection under the law, and citizen's right to vote regardless of their race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
