The Fourteenth Amendment - Part I

Resource for Grades 7-12

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Running Time: 1m 26s
Size: 3.8 MB

Source: The Supreme Court Volume 2: "A New Kind of Justice"

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The Fourteenth Amendment - Part II
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By the end of the Civil War, the Union victory over the Confederate states marked a dramatic change in American history with the abolition of slavery and new amendments written into the U.S. Constitution. Passed in 1868, the 14th Amendment gave Congress special powers to protect and enforce the rights of former slaves in Southern states that adopted the greatest resistance to the new set of liberties afforded African Americans through citizenship. In this first of two video segments from The Supreme Court, learn how the nine justices evolved in their decisions to interpret the 14th Amendment as the nation moved forward after the war. To learn more, see “The Fourteenth Amendment - Part II.”

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Teaching Tips

The following Frame, Focus and Follow-up suggestions are best suited for middle school students using this video in an English language arts or social studies lesson. Be sure to modify the questions to meet your students' instructional needs.

What is Frame, Focus and Follow-up?

Frame (ELA) What is the purpose of the “main idea” in narrative or informational writing?

Focus (ELA) According to the video, what was the main idea or purpose of the 14th Amendment?

Follow Up (ELA) In a short paragraph, identify and describe the main idea presented in the video segment. Include details supporting the conditions surrounding the creation of the 14th Amendment and why it was necessary.

Frame (SS) What do you know about the Constitution? What is an amendment? What is the purpose of an amendment to the Constitution?

Focus (SS) What population did the 14th Amendment originally intend to protect? Why?

Follow Up (SS) In small groups, research the 13th and 15th Amendments. Based upon what you know about the Civil War and its aftermath, describe how these two amendments in conjunction with the 14th Amendment worked to protect the liberties of former slaves. Would you write any new amendments that could better protect a population within contemporary society, or do you think that the 14th Amendment sufficiently protects the liberties of American citizens?

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Transcript

NARRATOR: The carnage that Oliver Wendell Holmes had witnessed was only a small window on the enormity of the Civil War. When it was over, 600,000 men had perished. But the Union held. And the Constitution, like the nation, was reborn.

WEINBERG: The Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments together, but above all the Fourteenth Amendment, is the fruit of the Civil War. It is what all those brave men fought for and died for.

AMAR: The 14th Amendment says the federal government is gonna protect your citizenship even in your state. The federal government is gonna protect you against your own state. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.

KOBYLKA: The thing about the Fourteenth Amendment is it's written in general terms. It's not couched in racial terms. It's not couched in gender terms. It's couched in universal terms. Citizens have privileges and immunities. People have rights to equal protection and due process. So, while it is historically tied to the Reconstruction Acts at the time, the language of the Fourteenth Amendment admits of a broader range of interpretation.