14th amendment

Plessy vs Ferguson manuscript

This is the full manuscript from the 1896 case of Plessy vs Ferguson where a 1/8th african man was asked by a non discriminatory railway to vacate his coach seat and proceede to 2nd class. The ruling was that the seperate cars act did not violate the seperate but equal act.

The 14th is enstated.

Section 1. 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.


Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.


This article entails many subjects. First it states that anyone naturalized or born into the US, is a citizen. When this amendment was created, it used the words naturalized to include the slaves of the south and the natives who were here prior to us. Second is the voting rights of a 21 year old male in the USA. Any man that is 21 counts as a whole vote. Anyone under 21 or female is disregarded under this amendment. The third states that there shall not be anyone with a criminal past elected to any official status and if done so may be removed with a 2/3 vote from each house. The fourth section says that America does not negotiate with terrorists or provide payment for disgruntled slave owners or rebels. And lastly, the Congress have the power to enforce this amendment.




This video discusses what the 14th amendment really means and the history behind it. Do you agree?

Some more 13th amendment

(Slavery is a problem around the world and very difficult to measure. The following examples are listed in geographical order and not in terms of the magnitude of the problem.)

1. US: An estimated 20,000 people are trafficked into the US annually - many are forced into prostitution.

2. Dominican Republic: Campaigners say hundreds of thousands of Haitians are rounded up near the border and made to work on Dominican sugar plantations.

3. Brazil: Up to 25,000 people are said to be working as slave labourers - most of them clearing Amazonian forests.

4. Mauritania: Despite its abolition in 1981, chattel slavery is still strong - up to 1m people are allegedly held as "inheritable property".

5. Sudan: Campaigners say northern militias continue to take women and children in slave raids in the south.

6. Europe: Tens of thousands of women and girls are cheated, abducted and forced into prostitution right across Europe.

7. UAE: Every year hundreds of boys are reportedly trafficked from South Asia to the UAE and other Gulf states to race camels.

8. Pakistan: Men, women and children are bonded into forced labour in agriculture and industry, campaigners say.

9. Burma: Forced labour is reportedly used on a growing number infrastructure projects.

10. Thailand: Thousands of girls are sex slaves for tourists.



(Sources: ILO, American Anti-Slavery Group, US state department.)




The image at the top is a map showing the geographical points of modern slavery in the world. Below it is more information regarding the type of slavery and trafficking in the areas. If you take note, USA is listed as 1 but yet we've abolished slavery.

The big 13

Section 1. 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.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

This is the amendment that abolished slavery. This began the real definition of a free country. With this legislation, humans were no longer bound and beat but given their own piece of the American Dream.

Here's an article regarding modern slavery...and you thought slavery was dead :(

Modern Slavery

Unfortunately illegal slavery is still occuring to this day, even in America. Most commonly on our shores we have debt slaves and sex slaves. We don't neccessarily see this as slavery but when a human is forced to provide service, sexual favors, or labors without pay, this is considered slavery. Can we fight it? Are you ok with knowing this is still occuring? What will you do to help?

Something a little more recent

On this page, you will find the happenings of the Texas Electors Lawsuit against Cheney's Wyoming residence. I chose this as a perfect example of the 12th amendment because this hits us closer in the time. What would have happened if this had been ruled constitutionally incorrect?

Texas Electors Lawsuit

Would Cheney still have shot Harry Wittington in the face had he not become Vice President if the 12th had really been enforced to its strictest?

The 12th Amendment

"The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.--The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."

This amendment provides distinct guidelines on how a President and Vice President shall be elected. This is a very crutial amendment and provides us with directions of how and where our electors vote. We choose our electors who vote for us in the electoral college. This ensures that the people we place our voting trust in do exactly what they're supposed to do.



This video gives a brief overview of the use of the electoral college.