Abraham Lincoln, who was to become president in 1861, also had opposed the Dred Scott decision. This no doubt was an influence favoring his issuance in 1863 during the Civil War of the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in the seceded states. The Civil War had ensued in the course of Lincoln's assumption of the presidency, as the "slave" states sought to exercise a claimed unilateral right of secession from the Union. The view of the Unionists, led by Lincoln, that the Constitution did not permit this prevailed by force of arms.

Following victory the Unionist view also prevailed by the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in December, 1865, and by promising equal protection, due process and voting rights, by:

Amendment 14: "...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Ratified July 21, 1868.

Amendment 15: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Ratified March 30, 1870.

In Part III, Transformation of Promises, I detail the long and difficult legal course taken to transform the promises of the Civil Rights amendments into actuality culminating in Brown:

The "civil rights" amendments were designed to put the "chains of conscience" upon the states similar to the way the Bill of Rights was put upon the nation. Initial efforts to enforce blacks' rights under these amendments by enabling legislation and litigation failed.

In the Civil Rights Cases (1883) the federal government was unable to successfully prosecute certain operators of public transportation and accommodations