4.04: Civil RightsMichael Alpuin

14th Amendment• Following the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865, the rights of then freed slaves were not yet equal

with those of white men living within the United States. Although free, the former slaves were not considered American citizens. This meant that they did not have the rights of any people that were granted by the

Constitution and that they were not viewed as U.S. citizens in the eyes of the law. The passing of the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States granting these people the right to due process of law and equal protection as granted by the other Amendments of the Constitution.

This Amendment was a major step in the direction of equality among races in America. For the first time ever African Americans were considered citizens of the United States and were protected by the same laws as white men.

Roe v. Wade

• A case that started in Texas courts in March 1970. Jan Roe and alias for Norma McCorvey and the pregnant women of Texas were being represented by a law student named Sarah Weddington. Norma McCorvey was young and unmarried woman who did not have the means necessary to raise a child.

Being left with no other option, she began to seek a medical professional who could assist her with the abortion of her unborn child. The numerous doctors in which she contacted all denied her request due

to Texas laws that made them illegal. McCorvey believed that these anti-abortion laws were unconstitutional and violated rights of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments.

This decision motivated women groups to push for greater freedoms and laws allowing them to have more rights within American society.

19th amendment• Prior to the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920 American women did not have the same

rights as men regardless of race. In 1848 the first emergence of groups pushing for the rights of women emerged as a part of national society with a convention in Seneca Falls. Following the convention, the fight

for women’s suffrage became the main pillar of the women’s rights movement. Activists formed organizations whose aim was to spread public awareness and lobby for women’s rights. After a battle lasting

over 70 years, women in America finally received the right to vote.

Following the ratification more than 8 million women voted across the country for the first time enjoying a right they had been aiming to receive for nearly a century.

Brown v. Board

• Prior to this case the schools within Topeka, Kansas were experiencing segregation that forced African American students to attend a school different than that of the white students. Each day Linda Brown and her sister were forced to walk through a dangerous railroad switch yard in order to get to school because they were not allowed to attend the all white school next to their house. The students and their family believed that the segregation of schools violated the 14th Amendment and took the case to court. It was believed that since the schools had the

same components that it was completely illegal to segregate them. It was especially dangerous because the civil rights issues were placing young children at risk in a situation that they did not yet fully understand.

After taking the Supreme Court, the segregation of schools was deemed unconstitutional and an integration of schools was begun by law. This helped in lessening the effects that the Civil Rights tension had on children and

helped to raise the new generation in an environment that lacked racial segregation.

sources

streetlaw.org. The Supreme Court Historical Society. n.d. Web. May 14, 2015.

infoplease.com. Pearson Eduction. 2005. Web. May 14, 2015.

loc.org. The Library of Congress. n.d. Web. May 14, 2015.

history.com. A+E Networks. 2010. Web. May 14, 2015.