Running head: CONSTITUTION AMENDMENTS

Constitution Amendments
Name
Institutional Affiliation

CONSTITUTION AMENDMENTS

Constitution Amendments
As the country prepares to celebrate the Constitution Day on 17th of September, we look
back at some of the amendments that have been made to the Constitution since it was passed in
1787. In particular, we look at the amendment that had a significant impact on promotion and
recognition of diversity, equal rights, and nondiscrimination in employment as well as the
general society.
The Fourteenth Amendment (Civil rights) is the amendment that had the most influence
on equal rights, non-discrimination, and promotion of diversity ("Full Text Of "The
Constitution Of The United States Of America: Analysis And Interpretation.
Annotations Of Cases Decided By The Supreme Court Of The United States To June
29, 1972""). It was moved on June 13, 1866, and approved on July 9, 1868. In particular

section 1, which states that All persons born or accustomed in the United States, and
subordinate to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein
they dwell. No State shall enforce or make any bill which shall abridge the immunities or
privileges of residents of the U. S.; nor shall any State deny any person of liberty, life, or
property, with no due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
The issue of civil rights has been a big and controversial issue in the United States. This
is due to the presence diversity in terms of race, color, religion, gender and disability. Before the
Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, non-native Americans had a hard time surviving in the
States due to discrimination and denial of their rights. They were considered inferior and noncitizens in every way; hence were discriminated in employment and the society, and were denied
their rights even by the State governments("Fourteenth Amendment").

CONSTITUTION AMENDMENTS
However, after this amendment things changed. All persons born and naturalized in U.S
could now be viewed as American citizens and citizens of their residential states. Therefore, the
government and state governments were required to give every citizen equal rights irrespective
of their color, gender, race or religion. In addition, they were also entitled to equal employment
opportunities and equal treatment in the society.

CONSTITUTION AMENDMENTS

References
"Fourteenth Amendment". Law and higher education. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Sept.
2016.
"Full Text Of "The Constitution Of The United States Of America: Analysis And
Interpretation. Annotations Of Cases Decided By The Supreme Court Of The
United States To June 29, 1972"". Archive.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Sept.
2016.