Citizenship Archives – Annenberg Classroom

5 resources available

Handout

Equal Justice Under Law: Yick Wo v. Hopkins

This lesson teaches about the cause-and-effect relationships between historical events and the development of constitutional principles that protect the rights of all people in America today.

Video

A Conversation on the Constitution with Justice Anthony Kennedy: The Importance of the Yick Wo Case

Justice Kennedy discusses the ruling in Yick Wo v. Hopkins in which the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the unequal application of a law violated the 14th Amendment.

Video

A Conversation on the Constitution with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Fourteenth Amendment

Incorporating three integral constitutional tenets – due process, equal protection, and privileges and immunities – the 14th Amendment was originally intended to secure rights for former slaves, but over the years, it has been expanded to protect all people. Justice Ginsburg discusses with students its importance.

Video

Yick Wo and the Equal Protection Clause

This documentary examines the case Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886) in which the Supreme Court held that noncitizens have due process rights under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. The Court said that unequal application of a law violated the rights of a Chinese immigrant.

Timeline

13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment, one of the Reconstruction era amendments, abolished slavery.