2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
