The 14th Amendment Explained: US Government Review
Summary
TLDRIn this educational video, Mr. Hughes and Gome Chomsky explore the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, focusing on its historical context, key sections, and its impact on civil rights. They discuss the amendment's role in correcting the Dred Scott decision, providing citizenship rights, and ensuring equal protection under the law. The video also covers significant Supreme Court cases like Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, illustrating the amendment's evolution and its ongoing relevance in contemporary legal debates.
Takeaways
- π The 14th Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution and was passed after the Civil War as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.
- ποΈ It was designed to address the citizenship issue that the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision had highlighted, stating that African Americans were not citizens of the United States.
- π₯ Section one of the 14th Amendment declares that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.
- π« The amendment prohibits states from abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens, depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or denying any person equal protection under the law.
- π Section two of the amendment corrects the Three-Fifths Compromise by stating that all citizens, except Native Americans, should be counted for full representation.
- βοΈ Section three is a punitive measure against former Confederate leaders, preventing them from holding office unless granted by a two-thirds vote of Congress.
- π‘οΈ Section five gives Congress the power to enforce the provisions of the amendment.
- π Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine, which was later overturned.
- π« Brown v. Board of Education (1954) was a landmark Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation in public schools was inherently unequal, thus violating the 14th Amendment.
- π The 14th Amendment has been used to selectively incorporate other amendments, ensuring that individual rights are protected at the state level, as seen in cases like Mapp v. Ohio and Miranda v. Arizona.
Q & A
What is the 14th Amendment and why was it created?
-The 14th Amendment is a part of the United States Constitution that was created to address issues arising after the Civil War. It was designed to correct the Supreme Court's decision in the Dred Scott case, which declared that African Americans were not citizens of the United States. The amendment was also used as a condition for Southern states to re-enter the Union.
What are the Reconstruction Amendments?
-The Reconstruction Amendments are the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the United States Constitution. They were passed following the Civil War to address the issues of slavery, citizenship, and voting rights.
What was the immediate historical context for the 14th Amendment?
-The immediate historical context for the 14th Amendment was the end of the Civil War and the need to reintegrate the Southern states into the Union. It was passed in 1868 by the Radical Republicans in Congress as a means to ensure the rights of the newly freed slaves.
How does the 14th Amendment address citizenship?
-The 14th Amendment addresses citizenship by stating that 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.' This effectively overruled the Dred Scott decision and granted citizenship to all persons born in the U.S., including former slaves.
What is the 'Privileges or Immunities' clause of the 14th Amendment?
-The 'Privileges or Immunities' clause of the 14th Amendment states that 'No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.' This clause is meant to protect the rights of citizens from being infringed upon by state laws.
What is the significance of the 'Due Process' clause in the 14th Amendment?
-The 'Due Process' clause in the 14th Amendment ensures that no person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. It is a fundamental protection against arbitrary actions by the government, ensuring that legal procedures are followed before any such deprivation can occur.
How did the Plessy v. Ferguson case impact the interpretation of the 14th Amendment?
-The Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896 upheld the concept of 'separate but equal,' which allowed for racial segregation under state laws. This decision effectively undermined the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause and led to decades of legal segregation and discrimination in the South.
What was the outcome of the Brown v. Board of Education case in relation to the 14th Amendment?
-The Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 overturned the 'separate but equal' doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was inherently unequal, thus violating the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.
How has the 14th Amendment been used to incorporate other amendments?
-The 14th Amendment has been used to selectively incorporate other amendments, meaning that certain protections of the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states through the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. This process ensures that states cannot violate certain fundamental rights.
What are some modern applications of the 14th Amendment?
-Modern applications of the 14th Amendment include its use in cases involving gay marriage and equal protection. It has been argued that different sets of laws for different groups of people violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Outlines
π Introduction to the 14th Amendment
The video script begins with an introduction to the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, focusing on its historical context and significance. The speaker, Mr. Hughes, sets the stage by relating the amendment to the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. He explains that the 14th Amendment was a means for the Southern states to re-enter the Union after the abolition of slavery, which was a coerced measure rather than a natural progression. The script then delves into the amendment's role in correcting the Supreme Court's decision in the Dred Scott case, which had previously denied citizenship to African Americans. The speaker outlines the five sections of the 14th Amendment, emphasizing Section One's declaration that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens, effectively overturning Dred Scott. The script also touches on the implications of the amendment for civil rights, mentioning the Supreme Court cases Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, which respectively established and dismantled the 'separate but equal' doctrine in American law.
ποΈ The Evolution and Impact of the 14th Amendment
In the second paragraph, the script continues to explore the 14th Amendment's impact on American civil rights and federalism. It discusses the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, marking a significant victory for the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. The script then moves on to the Warren Court era, highlighting how the Supreme Court used the 14th Amendment to selectively incorporate other constitutional amendments, thereby extending federal protections to individuals at the state level. Examples include the cases Mapp v. Ohio, which involved the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, and Miranda v. Arizona, which established the requirement for police to inform suspects of their rights. The script concludes by noting the ongoing relevance of the 14th Amendment in contemporary legal debates, such as those surrounding gay marriage and equal protection under the law. The speaker encourages viewers to subscribe to the channel and to explore other educational content creators for a broader understanding of various subjects.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘14th Amendment
π‘Reconstruction Amendments
π‘Dred Scott decision
π‘Civil War
π‘Citizenship
π‘Equal Protection
π‘Due Process
π‘Plessy v. Ferguson
π‘Brown v. Board of Education
π‘Selective Incorporation
Highlights
Introduction to the 14th Amendment and its relevance to U.S. history students.
The 14th Amendment is grouped with the Reconstruction Amendments, passed after the Civil War.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, and the 14th Amendment was used for southern states to re-enter the Union.
The 14th Amendment was a coerced measure, not a naturally flowing one.
The Amendment aimed to correct the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision that African Americans were not citizens.
Section one of the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all persons born in the United States.
No state can abridge the privileges or immunities of U.S. citizens, nor deny due process or equal protection of laws.
Section two corrects the three-fifths compromise, ensuring full representation for all citizens except Native Americans.
Section three is a punitive measure against former Confederate leaders, prohibiting them from holding office unless approved by two-thirds of Congress.
Section five gives Congress the power to enforce the previous four sections of the Amendment.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a test case for the 14th Amendment, where the Supreme Court ruled 'separate but equal' was constitutional.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overturned 'separate but equal', stating segregation was inherently unequal.
The 14th Amendment has been used to enforce civil rights, including desegregation and the rights of suspects.
The Amendment has been selectively incorporated to apply other amendments to the states, such as the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches.
Current court cases are using the 14th Amendment to argue for equal protection under the law, including for gay marriage.
Call to action for viewers to subscribe to the channel and other educational channels for more learning.
Transcripts
[Music]
hey guys dingdong learning is here I'm
Mr Hughes and this is gome Chomsky in
the next few minutes we're going to take
you on the ride of your learning life
not necessarily but we are going to try
to cover the 14th Amendment so if you're
a United States history student um in an
American government course middle school
high school even maybe a college intro
of course uh this lecture is for you or
if you're just kind of crazy on the
internet we accept those types of
peoples too um but either way we're
going to chop it up nice and easy and
serve it on a b of learning so here we
go get ready for the 14th
Amendment context context is everything
so first you want to group the 14th
Amendment with the Reconstruction
amendments that means it was passed
following the Civil War um the 13th
amendment abolished slavery that was
passed uh when Abraham Lincoln was still
alive and then when the Radical
Republicans took over the next Congress
um by 1868 they were ready for using the
14th Amendment as a way for the southern
states to re-enter the union so
therefore it's kind of a coerced
Amendment it's not a naturally flowing
Amendment but nevertheless it's written
into the Constitution um and anybody who
wants to complain about that um should
would probably be ready to give
Manhattan back to the Native Americans
um but nevertheless it is in the
Constitution so um what is it really say
it really deals with the problem that
the Supreme Court dredged up under Dread
Scott um in 1857 right before the
outbreak of the Civil War um the Supreme
Court kind of solved once and for all
the issue of slavery by determining that
all African Americans or Africans that
were brought to America are not citizens
of the United States so you know years
before that Congress during sectionalism
had kind of tried to put Band-Aids on
the problem and tried to solve it with
uh popular sovereignty and with Missouri
Compromise lines but nevertheless the
Supreme Court by deciding
African-Americans were not citizens
that kind of probably sped up the
reasons for the Civil War but
nevertheless the 14th Amendment is
designed to correct that Supreme Court
decision all right so let's look at the
five sections we're going to come back
to section one which is really kind of
the uh kind of the Entre of uh the 14th
Amendment the second um part or the
second section of the 14th Amendment is
meant to kind of correct the three-
fifths compromise to make sure that we
kind of rephrase that now all citizens
except for Native Americans are going to
be counted towards you know full
representation um the third section goes
to kind of a punitive measure against
the former leaders of the Confederate um
America which is going to prohibit them
from serving as kind of leaders in
Congress or in you know representation
in Washington um so they're not going to
be allowed to do that unless they get
like 2third of congress's vote the fifth
section basically says that Congress has
the ability to enforce these previous
four sections but it's section one
that's the important one so we're going
to read it out loud um we might break it
up a little bit but we're definitely
going to put it up on the the screen for
you so here we go 14th Amendment section
one all persons born are naturalized in
the United States and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the
United States and of the state where
they reside okay so there you go Dread
Scott is dead right so therefore
everybody that was born in the United
States which means all slaves who were
born here um are automatic
citizens no State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the
Privileges or immunities of citizens of
the United States nor shall any state
deprive any person of life liberty or
property without due process of law nor
deny to any person within its
jurisdictions the equal protection of
the
laws so therefore you have kind of two
sections you know saying everybody gets
equal protection States give your
citizens equal protection and don't mess
with due process all right py vers
Ferguson this is the big one right py
vers Ferguson is 18 96 and it's the
first chance that the Supreme Court has
to basically use the 14th Amendment to
protect a black person from their state
government this is you know the test
case in federalism and civil rights and
the Supreme Court drops the ball the
Supreme Court states that separate could
be equal that separate but equal in a
sense that if the Separate Car Act is
saying you know blacks on this train and
whites on this train that doesn't mean
that they're not equal separate halves
now of course that's just laughable
looking at the surface and the reality
of the situation in the South but
nevertheless the Supreme Court by doing
that is basically saying that Jim Crow
is constitutional so therefore we're
going to have you know decades and
Decades of Southern legal segregation
discrimination um now we fast forward to
1954 and this is the other court case
you need to know if you're writing an
essay you start with pie and you end
with Brown versus bord of Ed and this of
course is where the Supreme Court looks
at a Kansas law that segregates children
by race in schools and says no I don't
think so all right we're going to grow
up here and separate is not equal that
separate is inherently unequal and if
you ever research that court case it's
really interesting because they talk
about the psychology of race segregation
back then and how the children that were
being segregated had self-esteem issues
and so do the racist children too so
it's not good for anybody but
nevertheless the for th Amendment
therefore is now kind of come you know
full roundhouse kick and now it's going
to be enforced first by Dwight
Eisenhower um in the Little Rock N
sending troops down there and now we
have seen basically the 14th Amendment
kind of grow in the 1960s you have a
series of court cases called the Warren
court cases where the Supreme Court is
going to selectively incorporate some of
those other amendments using the 14th
Amendment so for instance in Ohio um a
court case called map versus Ohio when
the police barge in on Miss map without
a warrant looking for a suspect and U
Miss map was an older lady and uh she
stuck the fake warrant down her bosom
and the police probably didn't like that
you know too much so they started
digging through her house and they found
pornography yes I said old lady and I
said pornography um ew but nevertheless
that was uh evidence that was used
against her in a trial so when she goes
to the Supreme Court and States hey they
didn't have a warrant basically she's
saying the fourth amendment has been
broken but so is the 14th because my
state is denying me due process that's
called selective incorporation of the
Fourth Amendment and you have other
court cases like Miranda where they read
suspect their rights and where everybody
gets a lawyer gidon versus Wayne Wright
and uh Happy Day the 14th Amendment and
of course the 14th Amendment hasn't stop
been kind of trying to be expanded and
now there's uh court cases that're going
to the Supreme Court dealing with gay
marriage and um gay Americans who are
saying that if you have a different set
of laws for my people then you're
violating the equal protection Clause of
the 14th Amendment all right guys thanks
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