Amendments of Freedom and Justice

The Reconstruction Amendments (13, 14, 15)

Reconstruction Amendments (13, 14, 15) are the three Amendments that were added to the Constitution after the Civil War. Republicans pushed these Amendments through Congress. Their party was formed specifically to end slavery.

abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime abolish: to put an end to

14th Amendment State and federal citizenship for all who are born or naturalized in the United States   No state can take away the "privileges and immunities" of citizens. No person will be deprived of life, liberty, or property without "due process of law." No person can be denied "equal protection of the laws.”

The most used clause of the 14th Amendment is the “Equal Protection Clause”

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.

Define: jurisdiction reside abridge privileges immunities due process

Rewrite the equal protection clause in your own words.

Democrats were very unhappy with the 14th Amendment Democrats were very unhappy with the 14th Amendment. They were forced to accept it in order to regain representation in Congress. The Republican Party had been started with the specific purpose of ending slavery. Their side won the Civil War.

Gaining equal pay for women (Equal Pay Act) The Equal Protection clause was originally intended to protect freed slaves, but it can and has been used to defend others as well. Gaining equal pay for women (Equal Pay Act) Ending segregation (Brown v. Board of Education) Disabled persons (American’s With Disabilities Act) Allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry (Obergefel v. Hodges) Legal representation (lawyers) a right for all (Gideon v. Wainright)

What About Religion? The equal protection clause can be used to defend one’s right to practice their religion, but usually that right is defended by the 1st Amendment

1st Amendment, Free Exercise Clause Congress shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise (of religion)” 1st Amendment, Establishment Clause Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

15th Amendment Guarantees the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

19th Amendment Women’s Suffrage

In 1875, the Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment did not give women the right to vote.

Even though Amendment 14 states that “the privileges or immunities of citizens” shall not be taken from them, the court said that the rights of citizenship did not include the right to vote.

Between that decision and through the early 1900s, women and their allies continued to fight for women’s suffrage. Suffrage= the right to vote

Many women were jailed or harassed for participating in the movement. The movement was hindered by disagreements, but in the end women in the movement concluded that only a Constitutional amendment would give them what they wanted. Many women were jailed or harassed for participating in the movement.

? Why do you think that these women felt that a Constitutional Amendment was the best solution and necessary?

Finally, the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 Finally, the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. The Amendment had first been introduced to Congress in 1878!

The Amendment applied to both the states and the Federal level. Text:   The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Many feel that it was at this point that the United States had reached a point of universal suffrage.

Universal Suffrage: A condition where all citizens have the right to vote. Age is the exception. Every nation that has reached universal suffrage has some age requirement. Still, the point will come in our nation’s history where the voting age will have to be reconsidered about 50 years later...

Lowering the Voting Age Amendment 26 Lowering the Voting Age

Between 1969 and 1973 men as young as 18 were drafted into the Vietnam War.

25% of U. S. forces in Vietnam were draftees. Draftees represented 30 25% of U.S. forces in Vietnam were draftees. Draftees represented 30.4% of combat deaths. Simple fact: Draftees were more likely to die in combat than professional soldiers.

61% of those killed in Vietnam were younger than the age of 21. Simple fact: Most Vietnam deaths were people not old enough to vote.

The Lottery (draft) only made the war less popular at home. The increasing death toll also added to the unfavorable public opinion of the war. About 60,000 Americans would die in Vietnam.

Student activism was especially high during this time period. Young adults, often college students, would speak out against the war and attend mass gatherings and protests.

Many Americans saw the hypocrisy of drafting 18 year olds and other young people when they were too young to vote.

In 1970, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could change the voting age for Federal elections, but did not have the power to do so at the state level.

So, if the voting age was to be lowered to 18 at all levels, a constitutional amendment would be necessary.

The 26th Amendment was ratified faster than any other amendment The 26th Amendment was ratified faster than any other amendment. It became part of the Constitution in 1971. Text: The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

Justice An important note: Although Women’s Suffrage and changing the voting age occurred at different times and for different reasons, one Core Democratic Value links them: Justice

Civil Disobedience

Before Women’s Suffrage was won, and during the Vietnam War, many protesters and activists participated in civil disobedience. Civil: To remain peaceful Disobedience: To act against authority or the law

Civil Disobedience: An act resulting from a conflict between society and conscience Examples: Occupying a building and refusing to leave Not paying taxes to support a war Peacefully breaking a law you see as unjust

Civil Disobedience assumes the participant is willing to accept legal or other consequences. They are willing to be fined, jailed, imprisoned, or sometimes beaten or physically hurt in other ways.

Civil Disobedience Project Define Civil Disobedience in your own words. Find an historical example of civil disobedience by a group or individual our country or another. Write a paragraph to explain the example you found. Include important details. At lest 8 sentences. Do not plagiarize. What other alternatives are there to civil disobedience when you are unhappy with something going on in your country or community. (What are some other options) Explain the circumstances under which you feel that civil disobedience might be necessary. Start your answer out with- “I feel that civil disobedience is necessary when…”