Deal with the wars, religious stuggles, and societal issuses which plague the empire.
Because the US needed to honor its vow to defend Russia
The main point of the Fourteenth Amendment was giving citizenship to the slaves.
After the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment which officially abolished slavery in the US, the 14th Amendment (passed in 1868) granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans stating that "<em>All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.</em>"
