Civil Liberties and Civil Rights - Discussion

Since ratification of the U.S. Constitution many groups of people have struggle to achieve equality under the law. Even after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights many people received little to no rights. In particular, women could not vote, Native Americans had limited protections, and almost all African Americans suffered the yoke of slavery.

It took sixty years after the passage of the U.S. Constitution for this country to address the societal notion of equality. As per the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, "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 Fourteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty sixth Constitutional Amendments, coupled with legislation passed during the 1960s Civil Rights era greatly enhanced minority rights. In addition, Supreme Court cases such as Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Craig v. Boren ,Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, and Romer v. Evans have narrowed or expanded equality.

Discussion Question:100 -1590 words

Topic 1: Civil Rights

Directions: Select a group of people that you believe to have struggled or are still struggling for full legal equality under the law.

• Identify the historical or current circumstances of this struggle for legal equality.
• Identify specific actions taken by this group; and or specific actions taken by the executive, legislative, or judicial branch to address this inequality.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of said actions.

Although slightly edited for format: these 'responses' were crafted by undergraduate, Kaplan students: Discussion Board Example