Amendment 14
Equal Protection
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state. Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
This is another cache in the View of the Flag series that began before the November 3, 2020 election. From at least one of the stages you will be able to spot an American flag. The cache is not at the posted coordinates. Obtain the answers from observations at Stage I to get the final coordinates for Stage II. BYOP.
Passed by the Senate on June 8, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, Amendment 14 granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws,” extending the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states. It authorized the government to punish states that abridged citizens’ right to vote by proportionally reducing their representation in Congress. It banned those who “engaged in insurrection” against the United States from holding any civil, military or elected office without the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate. The amendment prohibited former Confederate states from repaying war debts and compensating former slave owners for the emancipation of their enslaved people. Finally, it granted Congress the power to enforce this amendment, a provision that led to the passage of other landmark legislation in the 20th century, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Congress required former Confederate states to ratify the Amendment 14 as a condition of regaining federal representation.
Other anti-discrimination laws passed by the US Congress
The Civil Rights Act of 1866: Guaranteed the rights of all citizens to make and enforce contracts and to purchase, sell, or lease property.
The Fifteenth Amendment to the Bill of Rights (1870): Forbade any state to deprive a citizen of his vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
The Civil Rights Act of 1870: Prohibited discrimination in voter registration on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Established penalties for interfering with a person’s right to vote.
The Civil Rights Act of 1871: Enforced the 14th Amendment by guaranteeing all citizens of the United States the rights afforded by the Constitution and provided legal protection under the law.
The Civil Rights Act of 1875: Barred discrimination in public accommodations and on public conveyances on land and water. Prohibited exclusion of African Americans from jury duty.
Civil Rights Act of 1957: Created the six-member Commission on Civil Rights and established the Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice. Authorized the U.S. Attorney General to seek court injunctions against deprivation and obstruction of voting rights by state officials.
Civil Rights Act of 1960: Expanded the enforcement powers of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and introduced criminal penalties for obstructing the implementation of federal court orders. Required that voting and registration records for federal elections be preserved.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibited discrimination in public accommodations, facilities, and schools. Outlawed discrimination in federally funded projects. Created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to monitor employment discrimination in public and private sectors.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: Suspended the use of literacy tests and voter disqualification devices for five years. Authorized the use of federal examiners to supervise voter registration in states that used tests or in which less than half the voting-eligible residents registered or voted.
Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act): Prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of approximately 80 percent of the housing in the U.S. Prohibited state governments and Native-American tribal governments from violating the constitutional rights of Native Americans.
Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970: Extended the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for five years. Made the act applicable to areas where less than 50 percent of the eligible voting age population was registered as of November 1968.
Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975: Established coverage for other minority groups including Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans. Permanently banned literacy tests.
Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982: Extended for 25 years the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Allowed jurisdictions that could provide evidence of maintaining a clean voting rights record for at least 10 years, to avoid preclearance coverage (the requirement of federal approval of any change to local or state voting laws). Provided for aid and instruction to disabled or illiterate voters. Provided for bilingual election materials in jurisdictions with large minority populations.
Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987: Established that antidiscrimination laws are applicable to an entire organization if any part of the organization receives federal funds.
Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988: Strengthened the powers of enforcement granted to the Housing and Urban Development Department in the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
Civil Rights Act of 1991: Reversed nine U.S. Supreme Court decisions (rendered between 1986 and 1991) that had raised the bar for workers who alleged job discrimination. Provided for plaintiffs to receive monetary damages in cases of harassment or discrimination based on sex, religion, or disability.
Voting Rights Act of 2006: Extended the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for 25 years. Extended the bilingual election requirements through August 5, 2032.
To obtain the final coordinates of Stage II, answer the questions from observations at Stage I.
N 32 51.X22
W 111 42.YZ0
X = At Stage I there is a black metal bench near the flag. How many circles are there on the back of the bench? Take this number and subtract 2.
Y = How many vertical black rungs are on the back of the same bench at Stage I, not counting the two ends?
Z = Y minus 3.
Checker: Add X+Y+Z = 20.
FTF: Team SW&L!
Reference: Constitutional Amendments and Major Civil Rights Acts of Congress | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives