Alliances for Human Rights

The 14th was ratified during reconstruction, which W. E. B. Dubois called "a splendid failure." Former slaves had demonstrated their ability to be full citizens, and thus upset the stereotype of white citizens that slaves were sub-human. Some believed they were unable to learn. Similar misconceptions existed regarding women being less intelligent. Just as abolitionists and women’s suffragists had formed alliances before the Civil War, women and former slaves during Reconstruction found mutual self-interest in working together for the adoption of amendments to the Constitution that supported human rights.

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Free-Story-Emancipation-Reconstruction/dp/0375702741/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276222840&sr=1-1