Rights And Amendments

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Bill of Rights and Amendments Paper Lucy Cortez His/301 December 21, 2011 Mrs. Rios Bill of Rights and Amendments Paper This paper will discuss how and why the amendments became apart of the constitution, what problems motivated the adoption of the Bill of Rights, the effects of the Bill of Rights, what problems or changes in society led to later amendments, discuss the 13th through 15th amendments, and the effects. How and Why Do Amendments Become Part of the Constitution? They are ratified by the house of congress and senate as needed. They are actually laws and follow the same essential path as federal laws, with a couple extra requirements. The founders never intended the Constitution to be finished, or untouchable. “Each…show more content…
Bear in mind that the Bill of Rights guarantees that the federal government must ensure the rights contained therein. There is nothing in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights that promises the states will preserve any rights at all. After the Civil War, it became apparent that the Southern states were going to do everything possible to make life difficult for the slaves who were now freed. So the 14th Amendment makes clear in its language that the states must provide all the "privileges or immunities" of citizenship, and the 15th makes clear that race may not affect these rights. Without this language, the states would have been free to do as they pleased (The United States Constitution,…show more content…
There are two major effects of these amendments, first is that all three of the amendments had been taken together to advance cause minority rights in the United States. This is especially true of the 14th Amendment. This amendment says that all people shall enjoy the equal protection of the laws. This clause has been the basis for much of the movement towards equal rights for blacks, women, gay people, etc. The 15th Amendment has been used to protect the voting rights of minorities from being diluted either explicitly or through more circuitous means (U.S. History.Org, 1995-2011). Second, the 14th Amendment has been used to incorporate the Bill of Rights, making it apply to the states as well as to the federal government. Until the early 1900s, the Bill of Rights did not apply to state governments. Over time, the Supreme Court has used the 14th Amendment to require states to abide by the Bill of Rights as well (U.S. History.Org, 1995-2011). In conclusion, this paper discussed how and why the amendments became apart of the constitution, what problems motivated the adoption of the Bill of Rights, the effects of the Bill of Rights, what problems or changes in society led to later amendments, discuss the 13th through 15th amendments, and the
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