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)
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Question 
Our Struggle for Freedom, Civil Liberties And Political Equality
Discussion
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: Chapters 15, 16
Lesson: Read this Week’s Lesson which is located in the Modules tab.
Initial Post: minimum of 2 scholarly sources (must include your textbook for one of the sources). Follow-Up Post: minimum of 1 scholarly source for your Follow-Up Post.
Our Struggle for Freedom, Civil Liberties, and Political Equality
Your Initial Post and your Follow-Up Post must be based on the same Option that you chose in order to receive credit for both posts.
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options and label the beginning of your post indicating either Option 1 or Option 2:
Option 1: The Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed almost a century ago and has still not been added to the United States Constitution. It is supposed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It was first introduced to Congress by Alice Paul, leader of the women’s suffrage movement, in 1923. Compare/contrast the Equal Rights Amendment with the Fourteenth Amendment. Did they deal with separate concepts? Explain your answer.
Option 2: The Bill of Rights is not only included with the United States Constitution but also state constitutions. All states have provisions in their constitutions that protect individual rights. Go online and look up your state constitution concerning amendments that are included in the Bill of Rights. How does your state constitution protect your individual rights?
Be sure to make connections between your ideas and conclusions and the research, concepts, terms, and theory we are discussing this week.