The Constitution
equal protection
The Fourteenth Amendment's command that states not deny any person 'the equal protection of the laws', the constitutional engine of anti-discrimination law.
In full
Adopted in 1868, the Equal Protection Clause requires government to treat similarly situated people alike. Courts scrutinize classifications on a sliding scale: race and national origin trigger strict scrutiny, sex intermediate, and most economic distinctions only rational-basis review. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is its most famous application; the principle binds the federal government too, through the Fifth Amendment.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.