WI: Fate of the 13th, 14th & 15th amendments in the wake of an independent Confederacy.

[Dude-a-Buck]

For those who need a refresher, the so-called Reconstruction amendments are as follows...

The 13th amendment forbids slavery except as per punishment for a crime.

The 14th amendment  established naturalized citizenship, removed the 3/5th clause, established that being found guilty of insurrection or rebellion was grounds for disqualification from office and established the vilidity of public debt taken by Congress.

The 15th amendment prohibits the federal government from denying the right to vote based "on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude" or put simply gave black people the vote.

Of the three, only the 13th passed by Congress during the war and still wasn't ratified until December 1865, with the 14th and 15th being ratified in July 1868 and February 1870 respectively. With all three being adopted after the wars end, it raises the question what happens if the war is unsuccessful?

I don't mean the Confederacy forcing a surrender mind you, it could just be that they hold on long enough for a negotiated peace. However they achieve it, how does an independent CSA affect these amendments?

 

[Don Corleone]

14th largely becomes superfluous. Birthright citizenship was a preemptive strike against the South trying to say "they aren't citizens because their parents weren't. In this case most of the slaves are still slaves and are outside US jurisdiction. Which also makes the 3/5 clause irrelevant. The insurrection clause doesn't matter because the rebels won and their sympathizers in the North will be politically radioactive.

The 13th might pass in order to curry favor with England and France. Otherwise compensated emancipation might be the route, in part to reward the border states for their loyalty and in part because it became a lot less expensive.

 

[Typho]

The 14th amendment  established naturalized citizenship, removed the 3/5th clause, established that being found guilty of insurrection or rebellion was grounds for disqualification from office and established the vilidity of public debt taken by Congress.

Defacto birthright citizenship too. That is a major aspect.