Which constitutional principle underpinned the enforcement of desegregation after 1964?

• A. Equal protection under the 14th Amendment, enabling federal enforcement.
• B. Due process under the 5th Amendment
• C. Freedom of speech under the 1st Amendment
• D. Right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment

Answer: (A)

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is the main idea. It prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, which provided the constitutional ground for federal action to end segregation. After 1964, the federal government could use this guarantee—through lawsuits, court orders, federal enforcement, and funding conditions—to compel desegregation in schools and other public areas. This makes the Fourteenth Amendment the key basis for federal involvement in dismantling Jim Crow practices, more so than the Fifth Amendment’s due process, the First Amendment, or the Second Amendment, which do not directly address statewide racial segregation and its enforcement.