Our Rich History: The 15th Amendment — politics and racism polarized Americans

By Paul A. TenkotteSpecial to NKyTribune (Part 1 of two parts. In honor of Black History Month, we offer this encore column that originally appeared in Our Rich History on February 25, 2019.) Today, as we look back upon the Civil War and the period of Reconstruction following it, it may be difficult for us to contemplate an era when polarization was deeper and more prevalent than currently. But it was. We’ll never really know the extent of the carnage, but estimates of Civil War dead range from 630,000 to 700,000, including soldiers and civilians. During the course of the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in the Confederate States only. The 13th Amendment would free enslaved Americans throughout the rest of the nation, including “border states” like Kentucky. The 14th Amendment would grant all those born or naturalized in the United States (including emancipated blacks) citizenship, due process of law, and equal protection of the laws. John Sherman of Ohio. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress) In 1869–1870, during the presidency of Ohio-born Ulysses S. Grant, Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and the nation watched and waited as the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution worked its way...