The Fourteenth and Equal Rights Amendments: Citizenship and Gender Equality in the U.S.

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The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides for U.S. citizenship for anybody born on American soil and a bar on the loss of rights other than through conviction. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are considered citizens of the United States and the state in which they live. The Amendment also addresses citizenship rights and equal legal protection (Greenberg & Page, 2018). It was suggested in response to post-Civil War difficulties with former slaves.

The Fourteenth Amendment is one of the most contentious provisions in the United States Constitution. It served as the foundation for essential rulings like Roe v. Wade (1972) and Bush v. Gore (2000) (Ware, 2021). It is still considered the most significant constitutional Amendment since the Bill of Rights. In contrast, the Equal Rights Amendment is an idea for an amendment to the United States Constitution that suggests legal equality for all people, regardless of gender. It seeks to eliminate legal inequalities among men and women in fields such as divorce, assets, and jobs.

Examining these amendments reveals that they address quite diverse issues. The 14th Amendment deals with citizenship and equal protection, but the Equal Rights Amendment deals with sex discrimination (Ware, 2021). As a result, while the 14th Amendment is frequently construed in favor of women, it does not provide any protections to them.

When the Supreme Court decided to begin applying the 14th Amendment to cases involving sex discrimination, it recognized that the phenomenon could only exist for an essential governmental purpose (Ware, 2021). The Court does not treat such issues seriously and frequently disregards them, resulting in decisions that are not always fair to women. On the other hand, the Equal Rights Amendment guarantees women’s safety through its emphasis on equality between men and women.

References

Greenberg, E. S., & Page, B. I. (2018). The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 Elections and Updates Edition (12th ed.). Pearson Education (US). Web.

Ware, L. (2021). Plessy’s legacy: The government’s role in the development and perpetuation of segregated neighborhoods. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 7(1), 92-109. Web.

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StudyCorgi. "The Fourteenth and Equal Rights Amendments: Citizenship and Gender Equality in the U.S." January 28, 2025. https://studycorgi.com/the-fourteenth-and-equal-rights-amendments-citizenship-and-gender-equality-in-the-u-s/.

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StudyCorgi. 2025. "The Fourteenth and Equal Rights Amendments: Citizenship and Gender Equality in the U.S." January 28, 2025. https://studycorgi.com/the-fourteenth-and-equal-rights-amendments-citizenship-and-gender-equality-in-the-u-s/.

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