The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, and it still drives modern legal questions about forced labor, incarceration, and state authority over people in custody. It’s the constitutional foundation behind federal civil rights enforcement inside prisons and jails, and it defines the boundary between state punishment and unlawful coercion. In practice, it shapes how courts evaluate labor conditions, human trafficking cases, and the scope of state power over confined populations.

The 14th Amendment is the backbone of modern civil rights. It establishes birthright citizenship, requires states to provide due process, and bars states from denying equal protection. Every major fight over school funding, zoning, policing, voting districts, health care access, housing discrimination, and public benefits runs through this amendment. It’s the tool courts use to police unequal treatment and arbitrary government action, and it’s the legal basis for most protections people rely on today.

The 15th Amendment prohibits federal and state governments from denying the right to vote on the basis of race. Modern voting rights litigation — from district maps to polling-place closures to ID laws — uses this amendment as a constitutional anchor. It shapes how courts evaluate whether a policy disadvantages voters of color and underpins federal oversight powers when states adopt rules that dilute or block access.

The 19th Amendment guarantees that the right to vote cannot be denied because of sex. Its force is not symbolic; it governs how states design election systems, administer registration, and structure participation rules. It also supports modern legal challenges involving gender-based barriers — from ballot access to representation — and sits behind the demographic shifts in turnout and political power over the last century.

The 24th Amendment banned poll taxes in federal elections and later, through court interpretation, in state elections as well. It blocks states from conditioning voting on payment, indebtedness, fines, or fees — issues that frequently appear in modern cases involving court debt, re-enfranchisement, and administrative penalties. It remains central in legal challenges where financial status is used to restrict participation.

The 26th Amendment sets the voting age at 18 and bars states from restricting the vote based on age for adult voters. It drives modern disputes around student voting, campus polling locations, ID requirements that disadvantage younger voters, and residency challenges aimed at college communities. It ensures that states cannot manipulate age-related rules to limit youth participation in elections.