Today in 1868 the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by two-thirds of the States, after being passed in Congress in 1866. The United States was still reeling from the death and devastation wrought by the Civil War, with emotions still high on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. The South, where most of the fighting had taken place, had been divided into five regions under military occupation, and "reconstruction governments" were in place in the former Confederate states. It was into this atmosphere of anger and grief that the 14th Amendment was born.
With the ratification of the 14th Amendment, all former slaves were granted citizenship. This amendment also made it clear that all persons born in the United States or who were (legally) naturalized were citizens of the nation and of the state in which they resided. But the 14th Amendment did one more very important thing. This amendment re-iterated that all citizens were equal under the law, AND all were granted equal protection under the law. Unfortunately, the law can be changed with the stroke of a pen; not so, the beliefs and prejudices of man.
Even after the advent of the 14th Amendment, discrimination and racism persisted, in the South, yes, but also in the North as well. Public and private facilities in both areas of the nation adopted separate facilities for Whites and for "Coloreds." Thirty years after the 14th Amendment was ratified, the United States Supreme Court upheld separatism in the landmark case Plessy V. Ferguson. This (in)famous ruling was summarized with the glib slogan "separate but equal." Of course stories told to us by older relatives, and maybe events witnessed by any of you who might be around my age, made it clear that while there were separate facilities, very rarely were the facilities "equal." I know I can remember seeing the school in my town that was for the Black children, and it was a very poor building. The books used at that school were old, worn out, and obsolete. The "separate but equal" system prevailed until well after World War II, when, in 1954 (nearly a hundred years after the Civil War) another landmark case, Brown V. The Board of Education of Topeka, finally made all kinds of discrimination illegal, including "separate but equal" discrimination.
As we know, illegal discrimination continued into the turbulent decades of the 1960's and 1970's, but the 14th Amendment provided the framework for equality for all persons without the resort to another civil war. And that change has not been peaceful, as various freedom fighters lost their lives over the years, paying for freedom with their own blood. Many people paid for their freedom with physical injuries, some with their lives - and most unsung. While we remember John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, Malcom X, and Robert Kennedy, there were so many others who also paid the ultimate price for attempting end discrimination. Today we live in a more tolerant and less prejudiced society, but there is still room for improvement. But full citizenship and equal rights for all, a grand idea, and hopefully to be realized one day, was guaranteed under the 14th Amendment - ratified today in 1868.
With the ratification of the 14th Amendment, all former slaves were granted citizenship. This amendment also made it clear that all persons born in the United States or who were (legally) naturalized were citizens of the nation and of the state in which they resided. But the 14th Amendment did one more very important thing. This amendment re-iterated that all citizens were equal under the law, AND all were granted equal protection under the law. Unfortunately, the law can be changed with the stroke of a pen; not so, the beliefs and prejudices of man.
Even after the advent of the 14th Amendment, discrimination and racism persisted, in the South, yes, but also in the North as well. Public and private facilities in both areas of the nation adopted separate facilities for Whites and for "Coloreds." Thirty years after the 14th Amendment was ratified, the United States Supreme Court upheld separatism in the landmark case Plessy V. Ferguson. This (in)famous ruling was summarized with the glib slogan "separate but equal." Of course stories told to us by older relatives, and maybe events witnessed by any of you who might be around my age, made it clear that while there were separate facilities, very rarely were the facilities "equal." I know I can remember seeing the school in my town that was for the Black children, and it was a very poor building. The books used at that school were old, worn out, and obsolete. The "separate but equal" system prevailed until well after World War II, when, in 1954 (nearly a hundred years after the Civil War) another landmark case, Brown V. The Board of Education of Topeka, finally made all kinds of discrimination illegal, including "separate but equal" discrimination.
As we know, illegal discrimination continued into the turbulent decades of the 1960's and 1970's, but the 14th Amendment provided the framework for equality for all persons without the resort to another civil war. And that change has not been peaceful, as various freedom fighters lost their lives over the years, paying for freedom with their own blood. Many people paid for their freedom with physical injuries, some with their lives - and most unsung. While we remember John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, Malcom X, and Robert Kennedy, there were so many others who also paid the ultimate price for attempting end discrimination. Today we live in a more tolerant and less prejudiced society, but there is still room for improvement. But full citizenship and equal rights for all, a grand idea, and hopefully to be realized one day, was guaranteed under the 14th Amendment - ratified today in 1868.
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