Civil War Amendments and Reconstruction Era

• After the Constitution's ratification, the Supreme Court initially avoided expanding the Bill of Rights to limit state power.
• Barron v. Baltimore (1833): The Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights only applied to the federal government, not state or local governments.
• Chief Justice John Marshall stated the Constitution wasn't intended to protect people from their state governments' power.
• The issue of enslaved persons' rights and the Civil War caused a reevaluation of applying the Bill of Rights to the states.
• After slavery's abolishment via the Thirteenth Amendment, Southern states passed "Black codes" restricting formerly enslaved people's rights.
• Black codes limited the right to hold office, own land, or vote, relegating formerly enslaved people to second-class citizenship.
• Radical Republicans in Congress sought to overturn the Black codes.
• They advocated suspending civilian government in Southern states and replacing discriminatory politicians.
• They proposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which dealt with civil liberties and rights, and the Fifteenth Amendment, which protected the men's right to vote.
• The Fourteenth Amendment (ratified in 1868) clarified the scope and limits of civil liberties.

Fourteenth Amendment Provisions

• It states that "no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States".
• This echoes the privileges and immunities clause in Article IV, Section 2, ensuring states treat citizens of other states the same.
• Saenz v. Roe (1999): Justice John Paul Stevens argued the clause protects the right to travel between states.
• McDonald v. Chicago (2010): Justice Clarence Thomas argued the individual right to bear arms applies to states because of this clause.
• The due process clause states "nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.".
• Like the Fifth Amendment, the clause requires access to procedural justice and fair treatment by government officials.
• Courts have ruled due process implies fundamental liberties that states cannot deny.
• Sherbert v. Verner (1963): The Supreme Court ruled states could not deny unemployment to someone who refused a job requiring Sabbath work.
• Since 1897, the Supreme Court has ruled states must uphold Bill of Rights provisions protecting fundamental liberties.
• Selective incorporation: The Constitution effectively inserts parts of the Bill of Rights into state laws, even if not explicitly.
• The Supreme Court decides if state laws violate the Bill of Rights through cases clarifying issues and procedures.
• The Fifth Amendment dictates a person can only be tried for a felony in federal court after a grand jury issues an indictment.
• A grand jury is a group of citizens determining if there's enough evidence for a crime prosecution.

Civil Rights Defined

• The belief that people should be treated equally under the law is a cornerstone of political thought in the United States.
• Civil rights are government guarantees to treat people equally.
• They particularly protect groups historically denied rights and opportunities.
• The Fifth Amendment's due process clause is enacted the Declaration of Independence's proclamation that “all men are created equal” by providing de jure equal treatment under the law.
• Bolling v. Sharpe (1954): Chief Justice Earl Warren stated "discrimination may be so unjustifiable as to be violative of due process.".
• The Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause (1868) provides additional guarantees of equality.
• The clause states that “No State shall... deny to any person within its jursidiction the equal protection of the laws”.
• Neither state nor federal governments may treat people unequally unless necessary for important governmental interests.
• Civil liberties are limitations on government power to protect fundamental freedoms.
• The Eighth Amendment prohibits "cruel and unusual punishments".
• Equal protection means laws and the Constitution must be applied equally.
• Government can't discriminate unless unequal treatment is based on a valid reason.
• The Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause states that “all persons similarly circumstanced shall be treated alike.”
• People who are not similarly circumstanced may be treated differently.

Civil Rights in the Constitution

• At the nation's founding, the treatment of many groups was unequal.
• Women, enslaved people, and indigenous Americans were not considered fully human or U.S. citizens.
• Equal treatment for all was a radical idea.
• The Civil War's aftermath was critical for civil rights.
• The Republican Congress opposed actions of reconstituted Southern governments.
• Black codes were laws designed to reduce formerly enslaved people to serfs.
• Black people were denied the right to vote, arrested for vagrancy, excluded from schools, and subjected to violence.
• To override the Southern states, Congress proposed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
• The equal protection clause was included in the Fourteenth Amendment to ensure states respected freed people's civil liberties.
• The Fifteenth Amendment aimed to secure the right to vote for Black men.

Explore the landmark Supreme Court case Barron v. Baltimore, the motivations of the Radical Republicans, and the impact of Black Codes. Understand the significance of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments in shaping civil rights and liberties during Reconstruction.