Freedom and Equality by Neil Hughes https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20 Post your views here by clicking on the pink + sign in the bottom right-hand corner en-us 2019-10-03 06:44:43 UTC 2020-10-09 10:54:58 UTC hello@padlet.com Hypothetical https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/392938767 The bill of rights and subsequent amendments are written without a deeper look into what can be interpreted from them. For example, the right to bear arms, perhaps the most controversial right allows a citizen to carry a firearm. However, it has been interpreted so much so that shooting a trespassing neighbour can be justified. By this example, the bill of rights can be interpreted in any which way in order to justify actions.]]> 2019-10-03 11:46:50 UTC https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/392938767 Despite their right to peaceful assembly, in peaceful protests African Americans were often subject to violent opposition. https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/393415943 2019-10-04 07:56:31 UTC https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/393415943 n k https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/754731274 2020-09-17 11:25:18 UTC https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/754731274 The Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/803295876 Both the bill of rights and constitutional amendments regarding slavery are all open to interpretation and subjugation. They can be easily manipulated and full of loopholes that can deny African Americans equal rights, for example in the 13th amendment where slavery can still be used as punishment. African Americans could be falsely convicted and put back into slavery, which would again deny them their rights and the right to vote. ]]> 2020-10-05 14:45:49 UTC https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/803295876 13th, 14th and 15th amendments https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/803949852 In terms of the 13th amendment, although this emancipated all slaves at the time from traditional slavery, at the same time, it made slavery acceptable if the person has been criminalised. This has proved to be a huge injustice as the section stating that slavery is unacceptable “except as a punishment for a crime” has meant that mass incarceration has taken the place of traditional slavery, enslaving millions of African American males especially to this day.

The 14th amendment and 15th amendment follow similarly in that when it comes to reality, African Americans did not get to claim much of the political rights that the amendments offer. The 14th amendment was undermined by de facto segregation with Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 (separate but equal) rendering African Americans as second class citizens. The 15th amendment was then similarly undermined by voting restrictions such as grandfather clauses and literacy tests making African American males ineligible to vote.

All in all, although these amendments may seem like an achievement in terms of African American political rights, in reality, they were far from that. Real progression in terms of these rights wasn’t really seen until 1964 with the Civil Rights Act and in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act.
]]> 2020-10-05 17:06:21 UTC https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/803949852 Bill of Rights and 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/816309657 If we're looking at the Bill of Rights as a whole, most of it can be seen as written in retaliation to how Britain ruled over the colonies - prior to independence, the Stamp Act infringed the production of newspapers, military personnel were stationed in peoples homes against their will, no representation in parliament, etc. Because of this, and the social structure that rendered many African Americans without rights within the colonies to begin with, there was never going to be any inclusion in their rights to this important document; this was even foreshadowed by the removal of the section regarding slavery from the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. White, landowning men were the only group in consideration when these amendments were written.

Yes, the 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments seemed like achievements, as one of the previous posts states, but because of the failure of reconstruction and the lack of federal enforcement of these rights, many African Americans were forced into social slavery (with Jim Crow laws coming into effect and sharecropping ensuring they would remain oppressed members in American society). Also, many were still disenfranchised by literacy tests, voter tolls, etc. African Americans were granted legal freedom, but it was far from the social freedom that they needed. Because of this, it can be said that these laws were purely a facade designed to make people believe African Americans were free, when in reality they were far from it.]]> 2020-10-09 10:34:57 UTC https://padlet.com/neil_hughes/ya5oij7pql20/wish/816309657