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The 14th amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed to the States on the June13, 1866. It was ratified by of 28 of the 37 states July 28, 1868. It was designed to grant citizenship and protect the civil liberties of the slaves who had been emancipated. The writer of this article feels that the Southern states should grant the freed men the right to vote. In fact, he states that the South will find that their prosperity lies in making all men citizens and voters. The states each had the responsibility for determining voter qualifications at this time, and that would not change until the adoption of the 15th amendment in 1870. The Gazette & Courier was the newspaper in Greenfield, Massachusetts, from July 20, 1841 until June 24, 1932. Before 1841 the newspaper's name changed quite frequently, with Gazette a frequent part of the title.