Essay On 14th Amendment

In 1791 the Anti-Federalists insisted that a Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to protect the individual rights of American citizens and to ensure a limited government. In 1868 the 14th Amendment was added which required the states to guarantee equal protection and due process of laws to all citizens. The Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment have been effective in protecting the rights of all citizens due to the 1st Amendment, the 14th Amendment, and the principle of due process. The 1st Amendment is an important amendment that guarantees American citizens fundamental rights. The 1st Amendment includes five freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Assembly, and Freedom of Petition. The effect of the First Amendment is shown in the Supreme Court case Texas V. Johnson (the flag burning case), when Johnson burned the United States flag he was charged but later the court decided that burning the United States flag was a freedom of expression. This is shown in the Flag Burning Political Cartoon when he is burning

The 14th Amendment was added to provide equal protection of all citizens after the civil war. According to The Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment chart the 14th Amendment was the “[i]ncorperation of [the] Bill of Rights to the states, due process to all citizens, [and] equal protection to all citizens” across the country. The incorporation of the Bill of Rights to the states meant that the individual freedoms of the people now had to be protected by the states and the states could not violate the law. The due process and equal protection of all citizens also had to be executed by the states by treating all citizens equally under the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. This shows the ways the states had to effectively carry out the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment including the Equal Protection