Which amendment guarantees equal protection under the law for all citizens?

Which amendment guarantees equal protection under the law for all citizens?

• A. 13th Amendment
• B. 14th Amendment
• C. 17th Amendment
• D. 22nd Amendment

Answer: (B)

Equal protection under the law is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. This clause says that states may not deny any person within their jurisdiction the same protection of the laws, so laws must apply to everyone fairly and cannot discriminate without a strong, legitimate reason. The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted after the Civil War to protect newly freed people and, over time, its protections have been used to apply most of the Bill of Rights to state governments through the process of incorporation. A classic example is Brown v. Board of Education, where the Supreme Court used the Equal Protection Clause to declare that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional because separate facilities are inherently unequal. The other amendments you might see here address different issues: one abolished slavery, another changed how senators are elected, and another set a limit on presidential terms.

Equal protection under the law is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. This clause says that states may not deny any person within their jurisdiction the same protection of the laws, so laws must apply to everyone fairly and cannot discriminate without a strong, legitimate reason. The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted after the Civil War to protect newly freed people and, over time, its protections have been used to apply most of the Bill of Rights to state governments through the process of incorporation. A classic example is Brown v. Board of Education, where the Supreme Court used the Equal Protection Clause to declare that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional because separate facilities are inherently unequal. The other amendments you might see here address different issues: one abolished slavery, another changed how senators are elected, and another set a limit on presidential terms.