"S.R. 16 Joint Resolution. amendment Submitting to the legislatures of the several States a proposition to amend the Constitution of the United States," April 1864

National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Senate

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution put an end to slavery, but emancipation left many unanswered questions about the economic and political status of free African Americans in the United States. Questions concerning the legal status and voting rights of freedmen were clarified by the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.