Alexander, Anaya Ashe
Oregon Institute of Technology
The 14th amendment was originally written to ensure that the civil
rights act was upheld by the states. and give African Americans the right of
naturalized citizenship and equal protection under the law. But it would take
another 50 years to get rid of separate
but equal rights and for the 14th amendment to truly make
minorities equal citizens.
(14th Amendment, n.d.)(LaMance, n.d.)
(14th Amendment, n.d.)(LaMance, n.d.)
As in any interpretation, the laws that have been born from persons
interpretations of the 14th amendment, depend on who is interpreting
them. The amendment has provided both positive and negative outcomes. They have
provided women the right to vote and all races the right to marry any ethnicity
they choose. But interpretation of the amendment has also been abused at times
such as in the New Haven Firefighter case. (14th Amendment,
n.d.)(LaMance, n.d.)
The major issue is that the amendment was not written to give everyone equal rights, it was written to limit/remove unjust discrimination by the states and federal government against minorities.
(14th Amendment, n.d.)(LaMance, n.d.)
Even before the 14th amendment, in the eyes of the law, corporations
have been considered artificial persons. This means the 14th
amendment actually provided more power to corporations. Even though the 14th
amendment applies to business much in the same manner as an average citizen
with a couple exception. These exceptions include the right to vote and the
right to plead the 5th. (Clark, n.d.)(Morgan, n.d.)
Affirmative
action began shortly after the addition of the 14th Amendment, but
took the form of separate but equal
right. The idea of affirmative action that we reference today did not begin
until around until 1941 with president Roosevelts Executive order 8802 which required defense contractor’s nondiscrimination
in employment in government-funded projects. Since 1941 affirmative action has
evolved to what we know today by way of civil rights advocates.(leadership
conference, 2001)
In
the New Haven Firefighter case it was brought to attention that results from
the exam designed to identify qualified firefighters for promotion to
lieutenant and chief was showing that white candidates had scored higher than
minority candidates. This resulted in arguments about the legitimacy of the
test. The city in fear of lawsuit decided to no longer certify the exam results
in the process of determining promotion. That decision sparked a petition to
overturn the choice because the city was now discriminating against those who
had passed the exam (in this case Hispanics and Caucasians). (Supreme Court,
2008)
In
the Landmark case of Tinker ET AL. v. Des Moines Independent Community School
District three young petitioners; John Tinker 15 years, Mary Tinker 13 years,
and Christopher Eckhardt 16 years had worn black armbands in protest of the
Vietnam war. This was a violation of the schools newly adopted dress code which
stated that armbands were not allowed. The students were suspended by the
school for not removing their armbands. The student s fathers sued the school district
for violating the students 1st amendment rights. According to Linder
(2016) “The District Courts recognized
that the wearing of an armband for the
purpose of expressing certain views is the type of symbolic act that is within
the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”. (Linder, 2016)
References
14th
Amendment. (n.d.). In Cornell Legal Encyclopedia;
Constitutional Law: Constitution. Retrieved
LaMance,
K. (n.d.). Understanding the 14th Amendment. LegalMatch. Retrieved
Clark,
J. (n.d.). The 14th Amendment and artificial Personhood. How Stuff Works; Money. Retrieved
Morgan,
S. (n.d.). Why is a corporation considered an artificial person by law. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved
RICCI
ET AL. v. DESTEFANO ET AL.. (2008). In Supreme
Court Library. Retrieved
Affirmative
Action. (2001). In Civil right History; Civil
Rights 101. Retrieved
Linder, D. (2016). Exploring Constitutional
Law. University of Missouri-Kansas city
Law
School. Retrieved
from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/firstamendment/tinker.html
