The Works

THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT: Abolished slavery

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

The Thirteenth amendment was a change made to free all slaves or any who was forced to do something against their will unless it was punishment for a crime and they were being punished for a crime. This amendment applied to all that lived in the United States. In 1863, President Lincoln issued an Emancipation Proclamation declaring, based on his war powers, that within named States and parts of States in rebellion against the United States ''all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free. The thirteenth amendment of the of the United States officially stopped slavery. The amendment was declared, in a proclamation of Secretary of State William Henry Seward, dated December 18, 1865, to have authorized by the legislatures only twenty-seven of the then thirty-six states. The states that were approved were; Illinois, Rhode Island, Michigan, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, W. Virginia, Missouri, Maine, Kansas, Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Nevada, Louisiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Arkansas, Connecticut, New Hampshire, S. Carolina, N. Carolina and Georgia. Approval of all the 36 states was finalized on December 6, 1865 when the rest of the 36 ratified; Oregon, California, Florida, Iowa, New Jersey and Texas.

FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT: Provides equal protection for all citizens and requires due process in state action

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The fourteenth amendment clearly states that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen and also a citizen in the state you live in. It also states that if a person is naturalized in the United States that person is also a US citizen and a citizen in the state they live in. Naturalized citizens are divided into two groups; those who are born on US soil or those who weren't born in the United States but your parents are US citizens by the "right through blood". Under the thirteenth amendment everyone is guaranteed equal justice of the laws - this means laws against crimes, liberty or property must carry the same maximum punishment for everyone. The Fourteenth Amendment doesn't care how dumb or unjust a law might be, only cares that any punishment that results from a crime is equally applied to all who violate that law.

CIVIL RIGHTS ACTS (CRAs) of 1866 and 1871 (as amended): Grant all citizens the right to make, perform, modify, and terminate contracts and enjoy all benefits, terms, and conditions of the contractual relationship

In March 1866, the Republican United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act Of 1866, which gave further rights to the freed slaves after the end of the American Civil War. This act was the Republicans' counterattack against the Black Codes in the South. Included in these were the rights to: make contracts, sue, witness in court, and own private property. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, saying that blacks were not qualified for United States citizenship and that the bill would "operate in favor of the colored and against the white race." The Republicans in Congress overrode the presidential veto on April 9, 1866. The act declared that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition, excluding Indians not taxed. As citizens they could make and enforce contracts, sue and be sued, give evidence in court, and inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property. Persons who denied these rights to former slaves were guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction faced a fine not exceeding $1,000, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. A far-reaching consequence of this act is that since 1866 it has been illegal to discriminate in housing based on the race of the individuals involved. Federal solutions were not provided for, however, and remedies were left to the individuals involved. Because those being discriminated against had limited access to legal help, this left many victims of discrimination without recourse. Since the latter half of the 20th century, however, there have been an increasing number of remedies provided for under this act, including the landmark Jones v. Mayer decision in 1968.

EQUAL PAY ACT of 1963: Requires that men and women performing equal jobs receive equal pay

Section 1983 claims for this act are based on the denial of a right granted by the U.S. Constitution or a federal statute. They can be based on the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which creates a constitutional right to be free from sex discrimination. These equal protection claims are based on the theory that a workplace that is hostile and abusive to women, but supportive of men, denies women the equal protection of the law. Section 1983 claims also can be based on violations of Title VII, a federal statute where sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. The denial of a right must be carried out by a person who is acting under color of state law. A person is acting under color of state law when he or she uses power that has been given him or her by the state or local government to accomplish his or her goal. For example, the director of the city health department has a department employee fired because she refused to have sex with him, then he is acting under color of state law and is abusing the authority that he has been granted.

Title VII of CRA: Forbids discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The purpose of this Act is to enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally