The notion of equality was so restricted in the late eighteenth century that the term or even the concept of equality did not appear anywhere in the Constitution or Bill of Rights. Still, the limited idea of equality held by the framers of the Constitution was actually considered bold at the time. Equality was primarily extended only to white adult males with property, not to African Americans, wo…
In the 1930s and 1940s, a fundamental shift to individual rights protection began. The Equal Protection Clause actually began to protect those for which it was originally designed. In Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1938), the Court ruled admissions to a state law school based strictly on race violated the clause. In a prisoner sterilization case, Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942), the Court again exp…
Into the 1990s, the Equal Protection Clause continued to take on considerably more and unexpected importance, becoming the focus of extensive legal action as the role of the federal government changed. Newer issues included sexual harassment, gay rights, affirmative action, and assisted suicide. Originally, the role of government was primarily to resolve conflicts and protect individual behavior u…
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