The Purpose Of The Fourteenth Amendment

On a date that will be remembered forever as a step forward for our nation, July 28, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment gave a new sense of hope and inspiration to a once oppressed people. It was conceived to be the foundation for restoring America to its great status and prosperity. The Amendment allowed “equal protection under the law”, no matter what race, religion, sex, sexual preference or social status. It was designed to protect the newly freed slaves. However, it only helped the white race.

According to the thirteenth amendment, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The purpose of the thirteenth amendment was to end slavery or any form of involuntary servitude everywhere among the United States. There was new hope for African Americans throughout the country but unfortunately their freedom had a limit and coincidentally, President Lincoln was assassinated shortly after. Jim Crow laws were established among the states and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the southern states of the United States up until 1965. This is how white southerners

This statement encapsulates why the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment found it necessary to include that, “No state shall…deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Bingham’s reading of the Constitution already incorporated this point, but Rogers’ certainly did not, so by placing it in the Fourteenth Amendment, the framers ensured beyond all doubt that the right of all citizens to equal protection of the laws would be part of any subsequent reading of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Imagine living in a world where everyone was considered equal. Imagine living in a world where people were considerate of others. Imagine living in a world where everyone had the same rights and privileges. The Framers took a step at achieving this world with the passage of the 14th amendment. The intent of the 14th amendment was to prevent state governments from denying African Americans in the U.S. from their citizenship. At the time Africans were unable to attain citizenship because of their skin color. The Framer’s objective in formulating the 14th amendment was to grant citizenship to everyone born in the U.S., regardless of skin color. The 14th amendment expanded the protection of civil rights to all citizens in America.

At the time the fourteenth Amendment was made, The Civil War had recently arrived at an end, beating the Confederacy. Acting president,Abraham Lincoln, had proclaimed the slaves liberated toward the end of the war; but, there were still a great deal of waiting inquiries with respect to the previous Confederates and the status of slaves in the nation. The Amendment was made to give people below the jurisdiction of the statute the privilege to fairness. This was known as the Equal Protection Clause. At this time, the purpose behind the fourteenth Amendment is to guarantee that the Civil Rights Act was maintained. On the other hand, taking after the selection of the fourteenth Amendment, Supreme Court choices started putting limitations on the

The 15th Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."(The library of congress).The 15th amendment touched upon topics such as race and color but it had not touched on gender equality. It denied women certain rights, such as the right to vote. The constitution did not secure women’s rights to vote! How truly unfair this was! The constitution clarified that males had more power over women. Men were allowed to vote, and had many advantages over women. This made many women outraged. The accentuation on voting during the 1860s drove ladies' rights activists to concentrate on lady suffrage. The two sides built up two opponent national associations that intended to win ladies the vote.

The fourteenth amendment is also known as equal protection clause. Under the fourteenth amendment, the U.S. Constitution prohibits the states from denying a person that lives in the state the equal rights of the law (LII, 2017). The fourteenth amendment applies to education, especially those that are English language learners (ELL), this means that these students cannot be denied the same rights as non-English language learners. In the Supreme Court case of Lau v Nichols in 1974, this case involved a Chinese American student that attended the San Francisco Unified School District, this student was placed into a general education classroom despite the lack of being proficient in English (Wright, 2010). The school in which this student attended was found in violation, the school was giving ELL students the same material as all other students who speak proficient English and expected the Chinese American student to be able to comprehend the information that is being taught. School districts need to provide the same material, but in a modified form where the student’s will be able to access the information to learn it in the same manner as those non-English language learners.

For centuries, the success of a democratic society has been measured by its commitment to equality, a resounding principle central to our nation’s founding. The Enlightenment-inspired language of the Declaration of Independence, namely the age-old axiom that “all men are created equal,” pervades our perception of the American creed. However, nearly a century passed before the Lockean principles espoused in the Declaration of Independence began to bear the force of law. Entitling American citizens to due process and equal protection of the law, the Fourteenth Amendment, perhaps the most transformative Amendment of all, has inspired the steady progression of American society. Nonetheless, while the Amendment serves as the chief legal force behind the democratic goal of equality, questions regarding its achievement of that goal

In 1791, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to guarantee a limited government and protect the rights of the American people from the federal government. The 14th amendment was added later in 1868 in order to ensure due process for all and equal protection under the law. Many people have debated the effectiveness of these documents and called into question whether the freedoms of Americans are being protected. However, they have remained throughout the years as a steadfast guide for the basic freedoms we as Americans hold. The Bill of Rights and 14th amendment are effective because they have created a framework for court cases that have further refined and protected our freedoms, inspired action by the president and Congress to

“The purpose that brought the fourteenth amendment into being was equality before the law, and equality, not separation, was written into the law,” says Robert Bork. After the civil war in the US ended in 1865, the fourteenth amendment or the Equal Rights amendment was written in July 9th of 1868. Since the civil war was between south and north, and the south was defending its Black Codes, it was necessary to give the colored people a sensation of belonging to their country. Thus, the fourteenth amendment was established. Of course, the circumstances past then are surely different than the circumstances now a day. However, the Equal Rights amendment is surely still valid till our days. The amendment consists of five sections, and start by defining whom is American. Then, In the first section it clearly states that all citizens of the united states are protected and their rights should not be abridged. Obviously, the amendment does give a feeling of security to all

The Fourteenth Amendment has, overall, been a great incorporation into the Constitution through its equal protection clause, due process clause, and other specific feature such as the ability to be show the presence of the separate but equal mindset invested amongst individuals in the Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the implementation of said mindset in the decision of the Brown v. The Board of Education Supreme Court case, the usage of the due process clause in the 2000 presidential election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, and both equal protection clause and de process clause in the more recent case of obergefell v. hodges.

The costs involved with illegal immigration grow every year and will continue to escalate if the interpretation of the 14th amendment is not altered. The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates that the births of children of illegal aliens costs nearly $6 billion, which are funded mainly through Medicaid programs, federal money and American

Advocates for both Black and Women’s rights originally worked together since both sides were fighting for “equal citizen rights”. However, as the cry for black suffrage overwhelmed the nation, women’s rights were pushed aside. Political advocates felt that it was necessary to handle each group separately and black suffrage was the most pressing issue. In 1866 to 1870 the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were passed and ratified. (Gillon p.577) The Amendments were met with jubilation from the Ex-Slaves and their advocates, but divided the women rights movement for generations to come. (Gillon p.581)

Robinson 3 Anthony Robinson Mrs Sharifian Govt 2305 28 July 2017 14TH Amendment To be considered an American means you were born on US soil. For majority of Americans this is similar thanks to the 14th Amendment which allows any person born in our territories to be granted citizenship. But this law is quickly being taking advantage of by foreigners who seek to rack the benefits of the citizenship illegally. Therefore, it is important that the 14th Amendment is updated to have striker laws against any person seeking to enter this country legally or unlawfully to fit our current situations in America.

Jarrod Beggiani GOVT 2305 Sherry Sharifian 6/20/17 Interpretation of the 14th Amendment The 14th Amendment in was adopted in 1868 to secure the rights of freed slaves living in America by enforcing the 1866 Civil Rights Act which overrode the Dred Scott Decision which said freed slaves were not citizens.