Which amendment guarantees equal protection under the law?

Which amendment guarantees equal protection under the law?

• A. The 1st Amendment
• B. The 5th Amendment
• C. The 14th Amendment
• D. The 10th Amendment

Answer: (C)

Equal protection under the law is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, which says that no state can deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This means laws and government actions must be applied fairly and cannot discriminate without a legitimate objective. The clause became a powerful tool in civil rights, guiding landmark rulings like Brown v. Board of Education, which held that racial segregation in public schools violated equal protection because separate facilities are inherently unequal. The Fourteenth Amendment also helps apply most of the Bill of Rights to the states, strengthening protections for individuals nationwide. The First Amendment protects freedoms such as speech and religion; the Fifth Amendment protects due process and rights against the federal government, and the Tenth Amendment reserves powers to the states, but none of these provide the explicit, universal guarantee of equal protection of the laws.

Equal protection under the law is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, which says that no state can deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This means laws and government actions must be applied fairly and cannot discriminate without a legitimate objective. The clause became a powerful tool in civil rights, guiding landmark rulings like Brown v. Board of Education, which held that racial segregation in public schools violated equal protection because separate facilities are inherently unequal. The Fourteenth Amendment also helps apply most of the Bill of Rights to the states, strengthening protections for individuals nationwide. The First Amendment protects freedoms such as speech and religion; the Fifth Amendment protects due process and rights against the federal government, and the Tenth Amendment reserves powers to the states, but none of these provide the explicit, universal guarantee of equal protection of the laws.