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14th Amendment Dbq

Decent Essays

The Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment are very important aspects of our government and the way it functions. The Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments, was ratified in 1791. The 14th amendment was ratified 77 years later, in 1868. Thesel 11 amendments were created to protect the rights of the people. Before the Constitution was ratified, the anti-federalists demanded a Bill of Rights be attached. Afraid of the government gaining too much power like Britain had before, the anti-federalists would not support the Constitution until a Bill of Rights was guaranteed. Eventually, the Founding Fathers ensured the people that a Bill of Rights would be added directly after the Constitution was ratified. James Madison wrote the list of ten amendments …show more content…

In document 1, the Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment are listed. The two most important amendments on the list are most likely the first and last. The 1st amendment ensures civil liberties. The first is “no establishment of religion” and the second is “freedom of religion”. These are two key aspects of the 1st amendment that have shaped the very foundation of the United States. The first part says that the federal government cannot establish a national religion while the second part says that you may practice or not practice any religion you want. The next part says “(freedom of) speech” which endures all speech, both pure and symbolic, are protected and cannot be taken away by the government. After that, “(freedom of) press” is stated. This says that the government may not censor anything that the press with publish or show to the people. Finally, “(freedom of) assembly and petition” is protected. This means that all people have the right to peacefully assemble whenever they’d like and may start a petition whenever they’d like. However, not all of these are without limits. There is a time, place, and a manner restriction. This means that all of the above things are protected to an extent and if the line is crossed, the right can be taken away. The 14th amendment has three key parts. The first is “incorporation of (the) Bill of Rights to the states”. This means …show more content…

As stated earlier, eminent domain is protected in the 5th amendment. Many argue that this gives the government the power to take anyone's property. While eminent domain is mostly used to build schools, roads, or hospitals, it is sometimes used to rebuild a neighborhood, expand a growing business, or to create a facility that will increase tax revenue. Since the later options are not the commonly viewed “public facilities” it is said that the protection of eminent domain restricts the rights and protection of citizens. This idea is represented in the cartoon shown in document 6 with the concept of eminent domain represented by a wrecking ball. Part of another amendment is discussed in the political cartoon in document 2. This cartoon shows one man burning a flag and another behind him burning the flag on his pants. This cartoon argues against the free speech protection in the 1st amendment. In the Texas v Johnson case, flag burning as symbolic speech was ruled as being protected by the 1st amendment. However, the man in the cartoon burning the flag on the first man’s pants would not be protected by the 1st amendment. This has caused many disputes, stating that if the first man can burn a flag then why can the second man not? These are just two points that someone who believes that the Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment do not protect the rights of

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