Broken Promise: How the 14th Amendments Equal Protection Clause Failed to Deliver Justice

Abstract

In what ways has the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment lived up to its promise of providing equal justice? The 14th Amendment's equal protection clause is primarily in place to prevent any state from denying anyone within its geographical boundaries equal treatment under the law and the state's policies must treat all of its citizens equally. It has proven to be a crucial amendment in resolving the issue of citizen protection rights in the United States, as it requires the government(s) to provide protection without discrimination. The citizens' basic rights have been considerably enhanced by this amendment, which requires state governments and the federal government of the United States to provide food and shelter as forms of protection against food shortages without discrimination. The amendment has given the government the responsibility of providing security to the people. It was a method of rebuilding the economy following the Civil War, and it aided in the abolition of slavery and the safeguarding of the rights of previously liberated slaves. It increased the provision of the right to life for US people because the amendment mandated that the government adequately protect human life. In what ways has the equal-protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment failed to live up to that same promise? The Supreme Court decided for many years that the Amendment did not apply the Bill of Rights to states. The 14th amendment not only failed to extend the Bill of Rights to the states, but it also failed to protect the rights of black individuals. It is apparent that white society's unwillingness to recognize freedmen as equals resulted in the denial of freedmen's civil rights. The court's restricted construction of the Fourteenth Amendment in instances such as Plessy v. Ferguson reflected the hesitation of many whites to accept the...