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Our founding fathers stated that "all men are created equal". They then stated that a slave is worth 3/5 of a person. This would cause issues later with the 14th amendment -
Thaddeus introduced the 14th Amendment in his speech before the House of Representatives. At the time he was the leader of the Radical Republicans. As a politician in Pennsylvania, he supported free public education and suffrage for African Americans. -
The Senate passes the 14th amendment by a vote of 33 to 11. -
The House of Representatives pass the 14th amendment with a vote of 120 to 32. -
After the House and the Senate, both passed the amendment. They then propose it to the states, needing at least 28 of the 37 states to ratify it. -
The amendment was finally ratified by 28 of the 37 states. It is put into the constitution as the 14th amendment. -
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all people "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people. It also provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws”.
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This event caused a lot of commotion and tension in the states. Louisiana created laws that stated African Americans must ride in different train cars than the whites, as long as they were equally suited. In 1892, Homer Plessy refused to give up his seat on the train, saying that this law went against the 13th and 14th amendments. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled as long as the train cars were equal, it satisfied the 14th Amendment. -
Many years after Plessy v Ferguson, Brown v Board of Education wanted to make a statement. They wanted to let the courts know that being separate is the exact opposite of being equal. This violated the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause. The schools were forced to be unsegregated because of this. -
This is a case that made it to the Supreme Court, ensuring rights for immigrant children. It made sure that children living in the United States without legal immigration documentation could have access to a basic education.