The Equal Rights Amendment vs. The Fourteenth Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment vs. The Fourteenth Amendment: A Comparison
Introduction
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and the Fourteenth Amendment are two crucial pieces of legislation that have shaped the fight for gender equality in the United States. While both amendments aim to ensure equal legal rights for all American citizens, they differ in their scope, language, and historical context. This essay will compare and contrast the ERA with the Fourteenth Amendment, exploring how they address separate concepts within the realm of equal rights.

The Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, following the Civil War, and it sought to provide equal protection under the law for all citizens. It was primarily intended to grant civil rights and protections to former slaves and ensure that they were treated as full citizens. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws and due process of law.

The Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA, on the other hand, was first proposed by Alice Paul in 1923 and is specifically focused on guaranteeing equal legal rights for all American citizens, regardless of sex. It seeks to address gender discrimination and eliminate any legal distinctions based on gender. The ERA would require that laws be applied equally to individuals of both sexes, treating them as equals before the law.

Separate Concepts
Although both the Fourteenth Amendment and the ERA aim to establish equal rights, they deal with separate concepts within the broader realm of equality.

Scope: The Fourteenth Amendment is more general in its language, applying to all citizens, while the ERA specifically targets gender discrimination. While the Fourteenth Amendment addresses various forms of discrimination, including race, religion, and national origin, the ERA focuses exclusively on gender-based inequalities.

Intent: The Fourteenth Amendment was initially conceived to address racial inequality and secure civil rights for former slaves. While it has been interpreted to include protections against gender discrimination, its primary focus was not specifically on gender-based inequalities. On the other hand, the ERA was designed explicitly to address gender disparities and ensure equal treatment under the law for women.

Historical Context: The Fourteenth Amendment emerged during a time when racial tensions were high, and its ratification played a crucial role in advancing civil rights for African Americans. Conversely, the ERA emerged during the women’s suffrage movement, when women were fighting for gender equality and seeking legal protections against discrimination.

Conclusion
In conclusion, while both the Equal Rights Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment aim to secure equal legal rights for American citizens, they address separate concepts within the broader concept of equality. The Fourteenth Amendment was intended to address racial inequalities following the Civil War, whereas the ERA specifically targets gender-based discrimination. Although both amendments have contributed to advancing equal rights in their own ways, the ERA seeks to explicitly address gender disparities and ensure that all citizens are treated equally before the law.