In this interactive lesson, students will understand and explain the key provisions of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, commonly referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments. For a little more than a decade following the Civil War, these laws ended slavery and extended full citizenship and voting rights to African Americans, but after the end of Reconstruction it would be close to a century before federal and state governments began to fulfill the promises of the three amendments. Students will read and analyze the text of each amendment, explore the aftermath of Reconstruction, and complete a final writing assignment. Students should have prior knowledge of the Civil War when starting this lesson.