Our Struggle for Freedom, Civil Liberties, and Political Equality

All Americans deserve equal rights no matter their race, gender, nationality, or ethnic group. Gender inequalities have always been evident since historical times, and this led to the proposal of the Equal Rights Amendment to end the disparities between men and women. The Fourteenth Amendment was developed to guarantee equal rights to all citizens, including the enslaved people. I will compare and contrast the Equal Rights Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment for this week’s discussion.

Comparison

The Equal Rights Amendment was an amendment suggested to the United States Constitution to help overturn numerous federal and state laws that victimize women. Its core tenet is that a woman’s or a man’s legal rights should not be decided by gender (The Equal Rights Amendment and the Rise of Emancipation, 2017). The 14th Amendment was approved in 1868, and it approved citizenship to everyone who was naturalized or born in the U.S., as well as freed slaves.

The 14th Amendment ensured that all citizens have “equal protection under the law.” However, the Amendment’s following parts required the central government to penalize states that restricted or violated their right to vote as citizens in elections by lowering their (states’) congressional representation equally (Britannica, n.d). It also stated that anyone engaging in a revolt could not hold military, elected, or civil office without two-thirds of the House or Senate’s approval in the United States.

Contrast

Both the Equal Rights Amendment and the 14th Amendment advocated for equal rights for American citizens. Because the Equal Rights Amendment was fighting for women’s rights, and the 14th Amendment was campaigning for equal rights for all people, men and women, the two amendments were fighting for the same goal.

Explanation

The 14th Amendment was meant to provide former slaves with equal voting rights under the law. It was not designed to safeguard women (Britannica, n.d). On the other hand, the Equal Rights Amendment was intended to guarantee women and men equal rights in every element of life in the United States.

References

Britannica. (n.d). Equal Rights Amendment. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Equal-Rights-Amendment

Britannica. (n.d). Fourteenth Amendment, United States Constitution. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fourteenth-Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment and the Rise of Emancipation, 1932–1946 on JSTOR. (2017). Jstor.org. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5250/fronjwomestud.38.2.0047? casa_token=2BaF7AcaV7gAAAAA %3AVqaJewe3vpCBuSJ8m4XkjAWq4l8fcvvTolnvtXuyEaeZPDlvOKDf- g2lFOrE44ZsEcEyOFWTFT6Zc9qO5wEcfXgAWjJ8EQ- wjTL94fr2eUkwohK6n6v8gQ#metadata_info_tab_contents (The Equal Rights Amendment and the Rise of Emancipation, 1932–1946 on JSTOR, 2017)