The 14th Amendment and State Action Doctrine
Professors Randy Barnett and Evan Bernick talked about their book, The Original Meaning of the 14th Amendment. They argued that the 14th Amendment, which gave the federal judiciary and Congress new powers over the states, has been misinterpreted by conservative and liberal judges alike since its adoption in 1868.
Description
Professors Randy Barnett and Evan Bernick talked about their book, "The Original Meaning of the 14th Amendment." They argued that the 14th Amendment, which gave the federal judiciary and Congress new powers over the states, has been misinterpreted by conservative and liberal judges alike since its adoption in 1868.
Bell Ringer Assignment
- What does Randy Barnett say is "disordered about our Constitutional house?"
- What does Barnett say about the original Bill of Rights? Which amendment gives individuals Constitutional rights against individual states?
- Based on the clip, why was the Fourteenth Amendment enacted?
- What example of society "paying the price" of the misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment does Evan Bernick discuss? According to Bernick what is the State Action Doctrine?
- Based on the clip, what was "one of the primary functions of the Equal Protection of the Laws clause?"
Additional Resources
- Bell Ringer: Rule of Law, Equal Protection and Rights
- Bell Ringer: Federalism vs States' Rights
- Bell Ringer: Birthright Citizenship and the Drafting of the 14th Amendment
- Bell Ringer: The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments
- Lesson Plan: 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause
- Constitution Clips: "Equal protection of the laws"
Participants
Vocabulary
- 13th Amendment
- 14th Amendment
- 1st Amendment
- 2nd Amendment
- Abolition
- Bill Of Rights
- Black Codes
- Congress
- Constitution
- Deshaney V. Winnebago County Department Of Social Services (1988)
- Equal Protection Clause
- Ku Klux Klan
- Legislature
- Reconstruction
- Republican
- Social Services
- State Action Doctrine
- Supreme Court