Name:Course title:Instructor:Institution:Date Due:Civil Rights in USA One of the most influential statements that were proclaimed in the eve of American independence by the first leaders was that all men were equal and that these human beings have unalienable rights that are unique to each other. Among these basic rights are rights to life, happiness and freedom. The government, which is instituted by people, ought to ensure that all persons are granted these rights. The first fathers of America proclaimed that all persons were created equal and therefore, the government should endeavour to treat them equally. The 13th and 14th amendments were established as an attempt to remove inequalities that were widely experienced between people of different races. The concept of the equality was however, not clearly depicted in the American constitution until certain amendments to the same were made. The 13th amendment that was established in 1965 outlawed slavery, and the preceding 14th amendment established three years later, provided equal rights for all USA citizens. This amendment included the word equality in section 1, which outlaws the state from prohibiting individuals their unalienable rights (14th amendment, sec 1, 1868). Some of the high court rulings however subjugated this aspect by setting a negative precedent in some of its rulings. For instance, the case of Plessy v. Ferguson Citizenship Factor in the 14th AmendmentThe 14th amendment adopted in the US constitution guaranteed equality and the associated privileges to both African and American citizens. The amendment had resolved the pre-civil war conflict that was experienced between black and whites. It stipulates, “all persons born or naturalized in the  HYPERLINK "http://www.history.com/topics/states" United States...have a right of American citizenship and the various states in which they live." This translated that all people born in USA whether black or white were supposed to exercise these rights. This is with disregard to race, ethnicity, gender or the alien age of the parents. The amendment further expounds on these rights and that the government to see to it that all citizens were protected by this law (14th amendment, sec 1, 1868).The major aim of creating the fourteenth amendment was to address equality issues that were at the time not stipulated in the constitution. During this time, the black race in USA was not being considered as equal to the white race. Additionally, American natives were neither regarded as citizens. This was because these Native Americans were also considered as members of the Indian states. The 1866 civil rights law and the preceding 14th amendment in 1868 extended birthright citizenship to blacks and all those born within the US. In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court ruling made it explicit that all children whether born from parents of foreign dissident could as well be regarded as America nationals. The only exceptions were on chi...