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The Importance Of The 14th Amendment To The United States Constitution

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The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution assured that people born in The United States are American citizens and individual states cannot deprive them of their constitutional rights. It also assured that all citizens in all states enjoyed not only rights on the federal level, but on the state level, too. In 1866, when the 14th Amendment was ratified, the U.S. was in the midst of Reconstruction, particularly in the south. Because all African-American people freed from slavery, they needed land, housing, jobs, etc, and the Republicans wanted equality to be protected by the Constitution itself, which is where the 14th Amendment came into play. People were unhappy with the fact that President Johnson vetoed the proposal of the 14th Amendment at first. His argument was that federal protection of civil rights would lead to “centralization” of the government. He was also against giving African-Americans full citizenship. The 14th …show more content…

Through research of this Amendment, one of the lessons of this history is that decisions that seem so simple and easy to make now, took long to make hundreds of years ago. This Amendment made and makes ancestors and future relatives down the line a citizen of the country they live in (U.S.A). In today's current events, people are torn about immigration, and illegal immigration, and whether those people should be citizens of the U.S.A or not. Another side to this conflict is whether America should deport them back to the country they originally came from. Just like how the decision of the 14th Amendment was an evolving conflict in the 1800’s, immigration is an evolving conflict today. Overall, being an American now means that nobody is segregated or singled out by anyone, that everyone should be granted and have the right of being a citizen, and that anybody can have access to equal

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After the Civil War many amendments were created to ensure and guarantee success to those native and free to this country. The Fourteenth Amendment, is one of three amendments to the Constitution, that was created after the civil war to grant citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. The main purpose of this amendment was to guarantee black rights. Many people were gracious when the amendment came in play but the rest were not satisfied and were against the ratification of the amendment. This amendment opened the doors to many who deserved it and many more who came in search for a better life.

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The 14th amendment assisted the Civil Rights cause by overturning the Plessy v. Ferguson case with the Brown v. The Board of Education. The Plessy v. Ferguson case established “separate but equal”. The Brown v. The Board of Education overturned the previous case because it opposed school segregation. The Brown v. The Board of Education incorporated the 14th amendment with the Equal Protection Clause. Since this case expanded the Equal Protection Clause, it expanded civil liberties as well.

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Southern states were required to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment in order to be eligible for readmission into the Union. In June 1868, seven ex-Confederate states voted to ratify the amendment, and the amendment finally passed.” ( yahoo) . “ The amendment was designed to grant citizenship to and protect the civil liberties of recently freed slaves. It did this by granting citizenship to anyone born in the United States and prohibiting states from denying or abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S., depriving any person of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

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A few politicians argue that the only way to fix this problem would be to repeal the fourteenth amendment. The amendment was made after the Civil War and is very important to everyday society. This amendment gives Americans equal protection under the law. This was a vital amendment and it continues to be one to this day. To change an amendment, Congress has to propose a new amendment to change the Constitution.

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The 14th amendment is just as important today as it was to the reconstruction era because it granted citizenship to former slaves and any person born on American soil, gave every citizen equal protection under the law, and it upholds the 13th amendment by stating that any U.S. State that does not abide by every citizen’s rights will be punished. The 14th amendment was passed on May 10th 1866. It is broken down into five sections. Section one gives anyone born or neutralized on American soil citizenship.

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White people were getting worried that African-Americans would overthrow the government because of their rapid growth in population. Soon after, the Alabama government dictated that only the votes of white people would count. After that happened many African-Americans rioted against the government and white owned businesses. When that happened a man named Professor Gomillion filed suit against the mayor and other high officials saying it was against the 14th Amendment. When the suit reached Judge Frank Johnson he dismissed the case saying the state had the rights to draw a boundary of what he could accept, but after he dismissed the case it had reached the Court of Appeals and the ruling was upheld.

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The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) The amendments were put into place to protect the rights and civil liberties of all American citizens from the federal government. However, prior to the fourteenth amendment, there was no certainty with the constitution. The constitution did not state in a clear enough way who was protected under it and exactly what rights you had as an American Citizen. The 14th amendment was in response to the just passed thirteenth amendment, which ended slavery in all of the southern states.

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What it means to be an American is that you have the freedom to vote freedom of speech. You have the liberty to be what you want in America no one chooses for you. Also have the liberty to work wherever you want not be someone 's slave. Being American means you don 't have to hide your religion, the color of your skin or your sex. You have the ability to speak what you want.

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Post Civil War, African Americans started to gain rights to gain rights, and soon gain rights equal to whites. While there were some people/things standing in their way (KKK, Black Codes), in the end they got what they needed; Equality. Many acts and laws were passed to aid the new rights now held by African Americans, as well as the numerous people willing to help. New Amendments were added to give African Americans rights after the war, all giving them some equal rights to whites. The first of the three added was the Thirteenth Amendment, it gave African Americans freedom from slave owners, and stated that no one could be kept as a slave in the U.S..

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To be an American could mean a lot of different ideas for example, you can be able to vote for a candidate to be the president of the united states, as well you have many other rights that anyone would want to have in their countries. Something that makes an American is saying the pledge of allegiance just by saying the words “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” would make anyone a proud American to be a part of this country because this country will never be divided and we will always have justice for all. But an American should be a person who is determined to finish a task and someone who will never give up and who will always have hope, but most importantly is to be free and to be proud that they are living in the United States. Also an American is going to be someone who is going to be proud that they have rights that many others won't be able to have since other people live in different countries, for example, in North Korea who have many restrictions to all North Koreans

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Nowadays, the USA are the symbol of democracy, freedom, and justice. Being and American means that you should, (even if we don’t now) always have the right to marry whomever you love, be in charge of your own body, and be your unique self. When America was born, the colonists were not fighting for an empire or a single person. They were fighting to give their sons and daughters (and ours, too) the freedom to live happily and in control of their government and lives. Being an American means we have a duty to uphold their beliefs in freedom, as well as our beliefs in equality.

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Being an American is having patriotism for your country, fighting for your country,and accepting everybody. The United States is based off the American dream and the American dream is made of what makes the United States “United” . An “American” can be anybody an immigrant, a soldier, doctor ,farmer, even a kid. Theodore Roosevelt understood that and called America a “melting pot” , meaning since different people came from different places, people shared their cultures, race , food. We came together, we became united we all came looking for change and a better life.

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Being an American can mean many different things all depending on the different perspectives of different ethnic or religious groups. So what does being an American mean to me? Being an American to means that everyone can live a happy stress free life where they don’t have to worry about being discriminated against or feeling like they don’t have equal rights. To start with, being an American can range in definition depending on a person 's perspective of America. Personally, I would say being an American is when you can live a happy life where you don 't have to worry about being treated differently because of the color of your skin.

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Being an American can have different meanings for different people. For example, a teacher might say that being an American means to have the freedom of getting an education. An immigrant might say that being an American means that you are given an opportunity to flourish. Being an American includes all of these things, along with some other rights. Being an American means having freedom as a citizen, and being able to have diversity.

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The Constitution of the United States, comprised of seven articles and twenty-seven amendments, exists to establish a three branch government, to divide power between the federal government and the states, and to give citizens of the United States individual liberties. This document has lasted over two hundred years because of its flexibility and the way in it effectively spreads out power amongst the branches in the federal government and the state governments. The Constitution of the United States has changed the way that myself and millions of other Americans experience life; it has made the United States one of the most successful nations in the history of the world. The second article of The Constitution of the United States has greatly

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