The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment influenced later civil rights jurisprudence by which of the following?

• A. It limited the federal government's powers over civil rights.
• B. It required all states to grant universal suffrage.
• C. It provided a basis for challenging unequal state laws and expanded federal authority.
• D. It had no impact on civil rights jurisprudence.

Answer: (C)

Equal protection means state laws must treat people in similar situations the same. This gave courts a framework to challenge laws that created or maintained unequal conditions and, crucially, to justify federal action to enforce those rights in all states. Over time, this approach reshaped civil rights by striking down discriminatory state actions and expanding federal authority to protect individuals’ rights nationwide—most famously seen in Brown v. Board of Education, which rejected segregation as compatible with equal protection and paved the way for desegregation. It doesn’t establish universal suffrage, and it didn’t limit federal power; it actually strengthened federal enforcement against state discrimination. So the idea that it provided a basis for challenging unequal state laws and expanding federal authority is the best fit.