We the People, Redefined

This message comes from Doubleday Books, publisher of The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, a gripping historical novel inspired by the life of eighteenth century midwife, Martha Ballard, a perfect read for long winter nights. Available everywhere books and audiobooks are sold. This is America in Pursuit, a limited run series from THROUGHLINE and NPR. I'm Ramtin Arablouei. Each week, we bring you stories about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in The U. S. That began two hundred fifty years ago. Since we started this series, there's one thing that's remained consistent in each episode. The rights to those pursuits were not granted or guaranteed for everyone. And while the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War marked a major turning point for granting some rights to Black Americans, there were still a lot of unanswered questions about what would come next. What is going to happen to, you know, nearly 4,000,000 African Americans who had been enslaved in the South? Are they going to have basic rights? Are they not going to have basic rights? The fourteenth Amendment sought to put those questions to rest and clarify once and for all who was considered an American and what kind of rights Americans should have. Well, the fourteenth Amendment is a charter of basic rights. And in trying to give basic rights to African Americans, the fourteenth Amendment gave basic rights to everybody. But in the aftermath of the Civil War, not everyone was on board with this revision of who had access to what rights. Today on this show, how the fourteenth Amendment redefined who was American and the story of the people who fought to ratify it. That's coming up after a quick break. This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Be smart. Get wise. Download the Wyze app today or visit wise.com. T's and c's apply. This message comes from Adobe. You need to make a huge presentation in an hour. Luckily, Adobe Acrobat uses AI and Adobe Express to take your files and generate a presentation in a few clicks. Need a last minute pitch deck? Do that with Acrobat. Need to level up your presentation design? Do that with Acrobat. Have 30 plus documents that need to be simplified into a proposal? Do that with Acrobat. Learn more at adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat. This message comes from Mint Mobile. Starting at $15 a month, make the switch at mintmobile.com/switch. $45 upfront payment for three months. Five gigabyte plan equivalent to $15 a month. Taxes and fees extra. First three months only. See terms. President Abraham Lincoln delivers his last speech just days after the end of the Civil War in April 1865. He's standing right outside of the White House. We meet this evening not in sorrow but in gladness of heart. Slavery had …