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The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a cornerstone of civil rights, is ratified. It was passed by Congress two years earlier on June 13, 1866. South Carolina became the 28th State to ratify it on July 9, 1868 at which time the constitutionally necessary approval by three-quarters of the states (28 of 37) was reached. Secretary of State William Henry Seward certified on July 28 that the 14th Amendment had become part of the U.S. Constitution. Expand +

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed by the Senate in 1966, is officially adopted, having been ratified by the requisite number of states. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people, and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws,” extending the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states. More

The US Supreme Court, (Chief Justice: Melville Weston Fuller) rules in Plessy v. Ferguson by a vote of 7-1, upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of "separate but equal". This ruling allowed for the continued discrimination against African Americans and solidified Jim Crow laws in the South. The court reasoned that segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment as long as facilities for both races were equal. Justice John Marshall Harlan was the lone dissenter from the Court's decision, arguing that the Constitution was color-blind and that the United States had no class system. Accordingly, all citizens should have equal access to civil rights. More

Deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution passes without the necessary votes. While there isn't a 28th amendment officially published in the U.S. Constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is widely considered by some as the 28th amendment. It aims to guarantee equal rights for all regardless of sex. However, its ratification is still debated primarily on the basis that some States ratified the amendment after the deadline. The amendment is still not officially published as part of the Constitution. President Joe Biden released a statement on January 17, 2025 regarding the ERA Amendment. More