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At the time following the Civil War, at its core, it meant all persons had the right to be protected by the police, that the laws of the country should protect all people, in the 20th century, more broader questions were litigated under the 14th Amendment, like Brown v. Board of Education -- whether segregation was constitutional. Cases involving the internment of Japanese citizens, case from the marriage equality decisions, even Roe vs. Wade have strains of equal protection language and invoke due process law.