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IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH! The Democrat Party, including President Andrew Johnson*, were unified in their opposition to the 13th Amendment (1865), which abolished slavery; the 14th Amendment (1868), which gave former slaves citizenship; and the 15th Amendment (1870), which gave African Americans the vote. All three were proposed by Republicans and passed only because of universal GOP support. Ulysses S. Grant, the second Republican president, sent federal troops to the south to secure constitutional rights for the newly freed slaves.