It is unlikely that the Civil War amendments would have been proposed and ratified if Confederate leaders hadn’t precipitated the Civil War. The fact that the civil rights amendments were an inadvertent result of the Civil War doesn’t detract from the fact that the war resulted in ratification of constitutional amendments that outlawed slavery and would eventually guarantee all black Americans equal protection of the laws and the right to vote. Blacks should embrace the Confederate flag to show their gratitude for the benefits blacks received from the Civil War.