Are We Treated Equally?

The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion or impeding the free exercise of religion. Adopted on 15 December 1791, it is one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights.

The First Amendments is a blessing that the United States is fortunate enough to have. First and foremost, First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religion and expression, without any government interference ("First Amendment" n.p.). The freedom of expression includes the right to free speech, press, assembly, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances ("First Amendment" n.p.). Redress of grievances guarantees people the right to ask the government to provide relief for a wrong through courts or other governmental action ("First Amendment" n.p.). People are allowed to practice their own religions and do not have to conform to one religion, all because of the First Amendment. People's rights are protected with no government interference.

Our first amendment to the United States Constitution reads; Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the

Because of this language, the Fourteenth Amendment appears to be — and to some extent is — simply the application of the Fifth Amendment, and through selective incorporation, the rest of the Bill of Rights. To that end, the Fourteenth Amendment possesses a fortuitous expansion to the simple due process right: the right to equal protection of the laws. Laws that appear to violate the Equal Protection Clause thusly receive the same kind of scrutiny that other fundamental rights are given.

Constitutional Amendments 4, 5, 6, part of 7, and 8 include our “Due Process” rights. Due process is defined as “a variety of procedural guarantees for those accused of crimes” The 4th amendment includes the right that protects people from unreasonable search and seizure and requires both probable cause and a warrant. It only allows the police to search for the person being arrested, things in view of that person, and things the person can reach that are in their immediate control. The 5th amendment protects against self-incrimination. People don’t have to answer any questions that might incriminate themselves and they can “plead the 5th” which means they are refusing to answer because it might incriminate them if they do. People have to be read their Miranda rights when they are being arrested and that lets them know they have the right to remain silent. The 6th amendment gives people the right to council and the right to trial by jury. So if you cannot afford an attorney you will receive a public defender to help with your case. You also have the right to a speedy and public trial by a jury of your peers. The 7th amendment protects you from being tried by a jury and then having the court overturn their decision. The 8th amendment protects against cruel and

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution applies to a person and their home by providing protection against unreasonable seizures and searches. While it provides protection, not every search and seizure can be deemed unreasonable unless it is classified as per the law, by determining whether there was: a) the level of intrusion of the individuals Fourth Amendment, and b) whether or not it pertains to the government’s interest, such as safety of the public.

Our 14th amendment is perhaps the most important amendment because it helps defend some of our fundamental rights. This amendment extends the due process procedure to all citizens when trying to deprive them of life, liberty, or property. The amendment also ensures that everyone born in the United States or naturalized is guaranteed citizenship. This helped grant the right to vote for many americans who before were excluded from this right. It was ratified on july 9th in 1868 following the civil war along with 13th and 15th amendment. These are known as the civil war amendments and had to be accepted by the southern states in order for them to be brought back into the union. The 14th amendment in particular was designed to protect the basic civil rights granted in the constitution to all americans. However a lot of issues have arose over time in regarding the 14th amendment equal protection clause. Movements like Black Lives Matter have brought forth some of these issues happening today. The supreme court has made interpretations of the 14th amendment in cases like Plessy vs Ferguson, Brown vs the Board of Education, and even in when overturning the case Dred Scott vs Sanford. To better understand the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause we have to take a closer look at the interpretations made by the supreme court to

This means in all cases, the accused person will enjoy the right to a quick and public trial by an unbiased judge of the state and county where the crime was committed. The county will be determined by law enforcement and the accused person has the right to be hold what they are accused of and able to confront witnesses against him/her as well as have the ability to call his/her own witnesses. The accused person has the right to have a lawyer to define him/her. The sixth Amendment does allow for equality because it allows a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to a lawyer. The VII Amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted. This means a large amount of bail will not be required to leave jail or a large amount of fines imposed on people who are guilty, or cruel punishment used on people who are in jail. Amendment Eighth does allow for equality because it prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, but also mentions “excessive

The Amendment also has the Equal Protection Clause that prohibits states from denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The laws of the state must treat an individual in the same manner as others in similar conditions and circumstances (www.law.cornell.edu). The question of whether the equal protection clause has been violated arises when a state grants a particular class of individuals the right to engage in an activity but denies other individuals the same right.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) states “that the rights guaranteed by the Constitution apply equally to all persons regardless of their sex.” The ERA should not only protect rights of the opposite sex but also races, sexualitys and religious beliefs. The Equal Rights Amendment was first passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification. Unfortunately, the ERA was only ratified by 35 states, needing three more for it to be inserted into the constitution. If the ERA was changed to protect all peoples rights, not only the opposite sex, I believe over the required 38 states would have agreed to ratify it.

Paragraph one was about how amendment I and II can achieve equality in the United States. Paragraph two was about how amendment XIII and XIX can achieve equality for the people in the United States. Paragraph three was about the counter-argument and how the amendments can achieve equality. In the U.S. some people believe that we have equality and some do not, but it just comes down to how you think and what you think about

The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

What is freedom? Freedom is the right to act, speak or think as one wants. And under the Declaration of Independence we have that right and that all men are created equal. But the real question is, Are all men treated equally? and the answer is No, because in our society we judge based on the color of skins, which is meaningless, when all should be treated fairly and helping one another develop with each other as a unity but for more, as a whole country.

The fourth amendment protects against “unreasonable” searches and seizures. This amendment came out of a struggle for balance between society’s need for order and safety, and the individual rights of autonomy and privacy. The concept of privacy does not appear directly in the Constitution, but is expressed multiple times within the Bill of Rights. For example, the privacy of beliefs, the privacy of the home against demands to house soldiers, the privacy of the person and possessions against unreasonable searches, and the protection for the privacy of personal information.The ninth amendment also states that “the enumeration of certain rights [in the Bill of Rights] shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people. While the meaning of this amendment is highly controversial, Justice Goldberg and other political figures have interpreted the amendment to claim more rights of privacy are protected in the Bill of Rights than are stated in