ginning with the Thirteenth Amendment, which made slavery illegal. This was followed by the Fourteenth Amendment that guarantees equal protection under the law. The Fifteenth Amendment brought up the rear, which forbids racial discrimination in access to voting. When affirmative action was set into place during the 1960's it was needed and very necessary. Although in history the need for affirmative action is obvious, it has reached the point where minorities are given unfair advantages. Although the public and the Supreme Court recognize the need for its end, the federal government is still funding studies which, through the manipulation of data, "find" it necessary to continue.
             What is the problem with affirmative action?
             Ever since affirmative action was started in the 1960's there has been constant debate about its validity. It has gotten to the point where minorities are given preferential treatment, especially in the areas of employment and education. Minorities still do earn less per dollar than the majority, but giving them preferential treatment, thereby denying the proverbial white male a fair chance is not the way to bring about equality.
             The term "affirmative action" was first used in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson in Order 11246, which mandated federal employees to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin". This Executive Order was expanded 2 years later, in 1967, to include affirmative action requirements to cover women. There were two more laws passed in the 1960's to make discrimination illegal. The first of which was the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Within this act, Titles II and VII forbid racial discri
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