Question

In 1868, what was the most important reason to include the equal protection clause in the Fourteenth Amendment?

Women’s rights activists wanted equal protection.
African Americans were not protected under the law.
Southern whites were not protected under the law.
Immigrants wanted equal protection.

Answer 1

African Americans were not protected under the law.

After the Civil War Southern states passed Black Codes and other laws denying freed slaves basic rights; the Equal Protection Clause was added mainly to ensure states could not discriminate against newly freed African Americans.