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In this resource, you will examine the 14th Amendment and learn how its provisions are the basis for many of the civil rights movements in American history.

Click on the image of the U.S. Constitution below and read an excerpt from the 14th Amendment.

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Section 1 of the 14th Amendment

“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. 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 jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The 14th Amendment contains the Equal Protection Clause, which says that no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” In other words, the states must apply the law equally to all citizens without discriminating against certain groups or individuals. The 14th Amendment also provides the right of due process to all citizens. The 14th Amendment states that no citizen shall be deprived of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

One of the most famous Supreme Court cases involving equal protection is that of Brown v. Board of Education. This court case overturned the ruling of a previous case, Plessy v. Ferguson, that had established the doctrine of “separate but equal.”

Video segment. Assistance may be required. Watch this video about the impact of Brown v. Board of Education.

Answer the following questions in your notes.

By the 1950s, how had racial segregation in America changed?
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Racial segregation in America had slowly dissipated in the wake of federal legislation and court orders.
How did the Brown v. Board of Education provide equal protection under the law?
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In the early 1950s, public school (K-12) was the most widely segregated entity in the United States. The Brown decision provided equal protection by ensuring that all students had equal access to the same public schools through desegregation. Separate facilities had been declared inherently unequal.