Quote:Laws are only as good as the government officials that implement them.  The slave amendments were fully intended to recognize the God given rights of the freed slaves and make them citizens of this country with all the privileges thereunto appertaining.  The leadership that won the war and passed the amendments (namely the president) was assassinated.  Andrew johnson was chosen as VP as a democratic southerner that would help unify the nation through reconstruction.  Unfortunately the guy who lead the effort in the Civil war was assassinated and you were left with the guy who asked for an exemption from the emancipation proclamation as the President.  He wasn't going to to over the hill to force federal mandates on the southern states and that's why civil rights were [BLEEP] in this country for a century.