Scholars Edition: Jeffrey Rosen, 14th Amendment
Summary
TLDRThis video discusses the significance of the 14th Amendment in American constitutional history. It highlights its three major clauses: the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. These provisions ensure fundamental rights, including those not explicitly written in the original Constitution, and protect all persons, citizens and non-citizens alike. The video explores key Supreme Court cases, such as Brown v. Board of Education, and invites viewers to consider debates over substantive due process and equality under the law.
Takeaways
- 📜 The 14th Amendment is a crucial part of the U.S. Constitution, helping fulfill the promise of equality made by the Declaration of Independence.
- ⚖️ The amendment includes three key clauses: the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause.
- 🛡️ The Privileges or Immunities Clause was intended to protect fundamental rights from being infringed by states, but was weakened by the Supreme Court in the Slaughterhouse Cases.
- 🗣️ The Due Process Clause ensures that no person (citizen or alien) can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures.
- 📜 Substantive Due Process refers to rights not explicitly written in the Constitution but deemed fundamental, like rights related to contracts and reproductive autonomy.
- ⚖️ The doctrine of substantive due process is controversial, with debates about whether courts should enforce rights not explicitly stated in the Constitution.
- 🏛️ The Equal Protection Clause guarantees that all persons, regardless of race or citizenship, are entitled to equal protection under the law.
- 🚂 The 'separate but equal' doctrine was initially upheld by the Supreme Court, allowing racial segregation, particularly in public facilities like railway cars.
- 🏫 The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case overturned the 'separate but equal' doctrine, declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
- 🔑 The Brown decision was pivotal in advancing civil rights and ensuring that the 14th Amendment's promise of equality became a constitutional reality.
Q & A
What is the significance of the 14th Amendment in American constitutional history?
-The 14th Amendment is one of the crown jewels of American constitutional history, as it helped fulfill the promise of equality made in the Declaration of Independence by ensuring that all people, regardless of race, are entitled to basic civil rights and protections.
Who drafted the 14th Amendment, and why is it important?
-The 14th Amendment was drafted by John Bingham, an Ohio congressman. It is important because it ensures that states cannot abridge the fundamental rights of American citizens, which was crucial in extending civil rights to African-Americans after the Civil War.
What is the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment?
-The Privileges or Immunities Clause states that no state shall abridge the privileges or immunities of U.S. citizens. It was intended to ensure that fundamental rights, such as those in the Bill of Rights, applied to all citizens.
What happened to the Privileges or Immunities Clause in the Slaughterhouse Cases?
-In the Slaughterhouse Cases, the Supreme Court essentially read the Privileges or Immunities Clause out of the Constitution, limiting its application. As a result, it became less significant in protecting citizens' rights.
How did the Due Process Clause become important after the Slaughterhouse Cases?
-After the Privileges or Immunities Clause was limited in the Slaughterhouse Cases, the Due Process Clause became the main tool for incorporating the Bill of Rights against the states, protecting individuals' rights at the state level.
What does the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantee?
-The Due Process Clause ensures that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. This protection applies to all people, citizens and non-citizens alike.
What is substantive due process, and why is it important?
-Substantive due process is the doctrine that certain rights and liberties, though not explicitly written in the Constitution, are so fundamental that they cannot be taken away without extremely good reasons. It has been used to protect rights like reproductive autonomy.
Why is substantive due process controversial?
-Substantive due process is controversial because some argue that judges should only enforce rights explicitly written in the Constitution, while others believe that fundamental liberties, even if not written, should be protected.
What does the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment state?
-The Equal Protection Clause states that no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. It was meant to ensure that basic civil rights are extended to all persons, regardless of race or citizenship status.
How did the Brown v. Board of Education case affect the interpretation of the 14th Amendment?
-In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal public facilities are inherently unequal, effectively ending racial segregation in public schools. This decision reinforced the 14th Amendment's promise of equal protection under the law.
Outlines
📜 The 14th Amendment and its Historical Significance
The 14th Amendment is a pivotal part of the U.S. Constitution, solidifying the promise of equality made in the Declaration of Independence. Passed after the Civil War, it aimed to ensure fundamental rights for all citizens. The script introduces the Privileges or Immunities Clause, drafted by John Bingham, which prevents states from infringing on the basic rights of American citizens. This clause was initially intended to apply the protections of the Bill of Rights to all states. However, it was weakened by the Supreme Court in the 'Slaughterhouse Cases,' leading to the Due Process Clause playing a crucial role in extending these protections over time.
⚖️ The Due Process Clause and Substantive Rights
The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment ensures that no state can deprive any person—citizen or alien—of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to protect certain fundamental rights, including some not explicitly written in the Constitution, through a doctrine called substantive due process. These include rights like reproductive autonomy, as recognized in 'Roe v. Wade.' The concept remains controversial, as some argue that only explicitly written rights should be protected. The script encourages readers to explore landmark cases like 'Lochner' and 'Roe v. Wade' to understand this debate.
🏛️ The Equal Protection Clause and the End of Segregation
The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantees that no person within a state's jurisdiction can be denied equal protection under the law. While initially meant to extend civil rights to all people, the Supreme Court allowed racial segregation through the 'separate but equal' doctrine. This lasted until the landmark 'Brown v. Board of Education' decision in 1954, which ruled that segregation in public schools was inherently unequal. This decision helped dismantle racial segregation and realized the 14th Amendment’s promise of equality, affirming that all citizens are equal under the law.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡14th Amendment
💡Privileges or Immunities Clause
💡Due Process Clause
💡Equal Protection Clause
💡John Bingham
💡The Slaughterhouse Cases
💡Substantive Due Process
💡Roe v. Wade
💡Brown v. Board of Education
💡Separate but Equal
Highlights
The 14th Amendment is a foundational part of the U.S. Constitution, fulfilling the promise of equality made in the Declaration of Independence.
The Privileges or Immunities Clause ensures that no state can abridge the fundamental rights of American citizenship.
The original Bill of Rights only applied to Congress, but the 14th Amendment extended certain rights to the states.
The Supreme Court significantly weakened the Privileges or Immunities Clause in the Slaughterhouse Cases, forcing reliance on the Due Process Clause to apply the Bill of Rights to the states.
The Due Process Clause protects not only citizens but also non-citizens (aliens), ensuring basic rights for all people in the U.S.
The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Due Process Clause protects certain fundamental rights, even those not explicitly written in the Constitution.
Rights under the Due Process Clause include freedom of speech, protection from unreasonable searches, and rights to make contracts.
The idea that the Due Process Clause protects unwritten fundamental rights is known as 'substantive due process,' a controversial doctrine.
Substantive due process has been used to protect rights such as reproductive autonomy, as seen in Roe v. Wade.
Some people argue that judges should only enforce rights explicitly written in the Constitution, while others believe in broader protections.
The Equal Protection Clause ensures that states provide equal protection under the law to all persons within their jurisdiction, regardless of race or citizenship.
The Supreme Court initially upheld 'separate but equal' segregation laws, allowing racial segregation on public transportation.
The Brown v. Board of Education decision overturned 'separate but equal' doctrine, declaring that segregated public schools are inherently unequal.
The Brown case recognized that racial segregation stigmatizes and degrades African-Americans, violating the 14th Amendment's promise of equality.
The 14th Amendment's guarantee of equality under the law became a constitutional reality through the Brown decision and later civil rights rulings.
Transcripts
[Music]
welcome to the National Constitution
Center we're here to talk about the 14th
Amendment to the Constitution it's one
of the crown jewels of our
constitutional history and if Thomas
Jefferson in the Declaration of
Independence promised that all men are
created equal it took the 14th Amendment
after the bloodiest war in American
history to make that promise a reality
so what does the 14th Amendment say well
the best place to read it is on the
interactive Constitution which you can
find in the App Store and also at
constitutioncenter.org and I've got mine
here and I'm going to read to you the
first part of the 14th Amendment there
are basically three big Clauses we're
going to talk about and the first one is
called the Privileges or immunities
clause no State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the
Privileges or immunities of citizens of
the United States what do that mean the
Privileges or immunities clause like the
rest of the 14th amendment was drafted
by someone called John Bingham he was an
Ohio congressman and for him the
Privileges of immunities clause was one
of the most important parts
because it ensured that no state could
abridge the fundamental rights of
American citizenship the original Bill
of Rights applies only to Congress it
says Congress shall make no law bridging
freedom of speech what are the
Privileges or immunities of citizenship
that states can abridge well they
include most of the rights in the
original Bill of Rights like the rights
of free speech the right to be free from
unreasonable searches and seizures they
also include rights to make contract and
to Sue and be sued the basic civil
rights that had been denied dened by
Southern States after the Civil War to
African-American citizens and the Clause
guarantees that all citizens
African-American white anyone at all is
entitled to these basic privileges or
immunities and it was an incredibly
important guarantee unfortunately the
Privileges or immunities clause was
basically read out of the Bill of Rights
by the Supreme Court in a case called
The Slaughterhouse Cases that came down
soon after the 14th amendment was passed
because of that it took another Clause
of the 14th Amendment known as the due
process clause to incorporate the Bill
of Rights against the states a process
that took almost 100 years so let's talk
next about the due process clause what
does that say nor shall any state
deprive any person of life liberty or
property without due process of law well
that's hugely important and interesting
in a bunch of ways first of all it
applies to all persons not just citizens
persons include citizens and Aliens
alike so these are basic rights that
have to go to all people whether not
their citizens of the United States the
Supreme Court has interpreted that
Clause to mean that there are certain
rights or Liberties that are so
fundamental that they can't be deprived
of any person without extremely good
reasons even with a trial or with due
process what are these rights and
Liberties well they include some of
those rights in the original Bill of
Rights that John Bingham had wanted to
bind the states through the Privileges
of immunities clause but they also
include some rights that actually aren't
written down in the original
Constitution the Supreme Court has
recognized that some of those rights
include basic rights of contract during
the Progressive Era in a case called the
lochner case the court said that the
rights of contract are so fundamental
that they can't be deprived under the
newe process clause and they also
include rights of reproductive autonomy
the famous case roie Wade in 1973 said
that the rights of reproductive Choice
are so fundamental that they can't be
deprived under the due process clause
now this idea that there there are
certain rights that aren't written down
in the Constitution but are nevertheless
protected by the due process clause is
known as substantive due process it's a
funny technical term but it basically
means these substantive Liberties are so
important that they can't be deprived
except with very good reasons this
doctrine of substantive due process is
controversial some people say judges
should only enforce rights that are
actually written down in the original
Constitution others disagree and I want
you to learn about this debate by
reading these cases like the lochner
case and roie Wade read the majority
opinions read the descents and make up
your own mind there's a final Clause of
the 14th Amendment known as the equal
protection Clause so let's read that one
it says no State shall deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws at the time after
the Civil War it meant that there are
certain basic civil rights that had to
be extended to all persons white and
black citizens and Aliens alike and yet
right after the 14th amendment was
passed
the Supreme Court held that it was okay
for the states to enforce separate but
equal Railway cars and to force
African-American people to ride
separately from white people when they
took the train it took decades for the
Supreme Court to overturn that case and
in 1954 in the famous Brown versus Board
of Education decision the Supreme Court
said that separate but equal public
facilities are inherently unequal and
that states could not force
African-American citizens to go to
separate public schools from white
people separating people on the basis of
race the court recognized can create
feelings of inferiority and can
stigmatize and degrade African-Americans
in ways that are inconsistent with the
promise of the 14th amendment that any
legislation that signaled that one group
was inferior to another was inherently
unequal it finally made real the promise
of Jefferson of Lincoln at Gettysburg
and of the 14th Amendment Itself by
insisting that the 14th Amendment
neither knows nor tolerates classes
among citizens the Brown case ensured
that the promise of the 14th Amendment
became constitutional
[Music]
reality
[Music]
a
浏览更多相关视频
The 14th Amendment Explained: US Government Review
Equal Protection: Crash Course Government and Politics #29
Constitutional Interpretations of FEDERALISM [AP Gov Review Unit 1 Topic 8]
Article IV of the Constitution | US government and civics | Khan Academy
Scholars Edition: Eric Foner, 14th Amendment
Scholars Edition: Tomiko Brown Nagin, 14th Amendment
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)