Final answer:
The Constitution was significant in helping African Americans gain civil rights through legislation and legal challenges.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Constitution was significant in helping African Americans gain civil rights through various means, such as legislation and legal challenges. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, provided the citizenship of African Americans and established that all persons born in the United States, regardless of race, were entitled to the full protection of the Constitution. This amendment allowed African Americans to challenge laws and customs that violated their constitutional rights and laid the foundation for future civil rights legislation.