Letters from an American The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
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Mar 22, 2026 A dive into Alexander Stephens’s Cornerstone Speech and its claim that slavery was the Confederacy’s foundation. A look at Lincoln’s rejection of racial supremacy and his wartime emancipation. The political fight to pass the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Postwar backlash through Black Codes and Congress’s push to secure equal protection and voting rights.
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Confederacy Founded On Racial Enslavement
- Alexander Stephens openly framed the Confederacy as a government built on racial enslavement.
- In his 1861 Cornerstone Speech in Savannah he said the Confederate government rested on the truth that Black Americans are not equal to white men.
Lincoln Championed The Declaration's Equality
- Abraham Lincoln rejected the Confederate worldview and reaffirmed the Declaration's claim that all men are created equal.
- In 1858 Lincoln argued that making exceptions to the Declaration's principle would undermine its authority and asked rhetorically who would dare erase it.
13th Amendment Abolished Slavery With An Exception
- The 13th Amendment abolished slavery nationwide in 1865 while allowing an exception for criminal punishment.
- Congress added enforcement power to the amendment and the states ratified it the same year.