The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, collectively known as the Civil War and Reconstruction Amendments, were passed between 1865 and 1870. They outlawed slavery and extended civil rights and suffrage to U.S. citizens, including former slaves (although women would have to wait until 1920 to receive voting rights under the Nineteenth Amendment).
Although after 1870 African Americans were theoretically equal before the law, racial equality has been, and continues to be, an elusive reality in American life. The representation of Blacks in dime novels both created and reflected existing racial stereotypes, as this cover illustration testifies. (Image source: Work and Win, No. 798.)