Following up the Civil War, president Abraham Lincoln had passed one of three Reconstruction Amendments: The 13th, that essentially abolished slavery. Two more would follow. To compensate freed slaves, the initial main idea of the 14th Amendment was to protect black's rights of those living in America, and additionally the idea of everyone being protected under the law regardless of looks. It is an immensely important change added to to America's law because of the way that it changed how America would look at equality forever, along with being a domino in the path to today's modern standard of equality.