Equal Protection Under the Law

This info-packed short entry in the Just the Facts series looks at the subject of equal protection laws in the United States. A segment on the 9th and 10th Amendments addresses the fact that the rights listed in the Constitution are not the only rights held by the people, and that all powers not specifically assigned to the federal government are reserved for the states and the people. The program also focuses on the Reconstruction era's 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which cover the abolishment of slavery, the addition of black male voting rights, and the rights of freed slaves. Specific Supreme Court cases mentioned here include Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. the Board of Education, but also lesser-known cases such as the WWII internment suit Korematsu v. United States, and the Slaughter-House Cases of New Orleans beginning in 1869. Also covering attempts to deny rights (such as a Jim Crow-style poll tax), the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, and the recent Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that allows for gay marriage, Equal Protection Under the Law combines contemporary footage with archival line drawings and paintings, photos, and relevant vocabulary. Recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (J. Williams-Wood)