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The Freedmen's Bureau. (The right to basic needs).
In 1865, Congress established the Bureau of Freedmen. It was established to assist the freedmen with their transition from slavery to being free. The Bureau allowed them to exercise their rights to the basic needs in life such as, food, land, employment, healthcare, education, and political participation. The Bureau received support from Christian groups and missionaries from around the world. They established, ran, and taught in the schools for freed slaves.
Corbett, section 16.2, pgs 458-459 -
The Civil Right's Bill
The Civil Right's Act was the first bill passed by Congress relating to Civil Rights. It put into law that "Everyone born in the United States, except Indians, are declared citizens of the United States". It granted all citizens "the equal benefits of the law". This law overturned the 1847 Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court, stating that blacks will never have citizenship. This law was ratified in 1866.
http://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/The-Civil-Rights-Bill-of-1866/ -
The Fifteenth Amendment
"In the Amendment, "The right to vote cannot be denied or abridged on the basis of race, color, or prior condition of servitude". Meaning that the right to vote was extended to the black male, including former slaves, who deserved voting privileges. With this amendment, masses of black men voted and made up a majority of the population. This large representation led to many being elected to positions throughout the North and South.
https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sets/the-fifteenth-amendment/ -
The Great Migration. (African Americans)
The Great Migration was a large fleeing of African Americans leaving the harsh, racial, environment of the South, in hopes of finding new economic opportunities in the North and West. African Americans leaving a horrible culture of violence, saw this as a way of escape and hope.
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian, Black Americans in Congress, 1870–2007. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2008. “World War I And The Great Migration,” -
The Silent Sentinels(Women's Suffrage Group)
The Silent Sentinels were a women's activist group who sought the opportunity, during Reconstruction, for voting rights after the passage of the 15th Amendment, which granted the rights of black men to vote. The women began picketing with banners at the white house in 1917, in hopes of getting the blessings of President Wilson to approve voting rights for all women. They went to jail for this and starved themselves for justice.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1066180 -
The Nineteenth Amendment
Because of the determination of the womens leaders and groups, the 19th amendment was passed by Congress in August of 1920. The 19th Amendment prohibited voter discrimination on the basis of gender. It took approximately 70 years for women's suffrage to be granted. In November 1920, more than 8 million women across the U.S., for the first time, voted in elections. It took 60+ years for the remaining few states to ratify the 19th Amendment.
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=63
