Why was it necessary in 1868 to apply the federal Bill of Rights to the states with the 14th Amendment?
(1 point)
O to establish civil rights for visible minorities
O to prevent states from continuing the practice of slavery
O to give the federal government the power to prevent rebellions
O to establish proper checks and balances between state and federal governments
The correct answer is:
- To prevent states from continuing the practice of slavery
The 14th Amendment was necessary in 1868 to apply the federal Bill of Rights to the states for the purpose of preventing states from continuing the practice of slavery.
The correct answer is "to prevent states from continuing the practice of slavery."
To understand why it was necessary to apply the federal Bill of Rights to the states with the 14th Amendment, we need to go back to the historical context of the United States in 1868. At that time, the country was recovering from the Civil War, which had primarily been fought over the issue of slavery.
The federal Bill of Rights, which consists of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, was originally intended to protect the individual rights and liberties of citizens from infringement by the federal government. However, during the early years of the United States, these protections did not automatically apply to the states. Each state had its own constitution and laws, which could potentially allow for the violation of individual rights, such as the practice of slavery.
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, sought to address this issue. One of the main provisions of the 14th Amendment was the "Equal Protection Clause," which states that no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This clause was intended to extend the protections of the federal Bill of Rights to the states and prevent them from continuing practices that violated individual rights, such as slavery and racial discrimination.
Therefore, applying the federal Bill of Rights to the states with the 14th Amendment was necessary to prevent states from continuing the practice of slavery and ensure that all individuals within the United States were afforded equal protection under the law.