The Fourteenth Amendment also said that a state could not pass laws to take away an American citizen's "life, liberty, or property" without a trial or other lawful process. Radical Republicans and freed people hoped this amendment would protect freed people's rights by stopping state laws such as the Black Codes. However, the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment did not mean that freed people's rights were always protected. Which of the following conditions made the amendment ineffective at protecting freed people's rights? Many local officials and judges refused to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment. Most African American leaders praised the Fourteenth Amendment. The amendment gave power to Congress to pass more laws to enforce the amendment. All of the former Confederate states ratified, or approved, the Fourteenth Amendment.

The condition that made the Fourteenth Amendment ineffective at protecting freed people's rights was: **Many local officials and judges refused to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment.** **Explanation:** While the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to guarantee equal protection and due process for all citizens, including newly freed African Americans, its effectiveness was significantly undermined by the lack of enforcement at the local level. Many Southern states, through various means such as the enactment of Jim Crow laws and other discriminatory practices, found ways to circumvent the protections intended by the amendment. Local officials and judges often either consciously ignored the new laws or were sympathetic to discriminatory practices, thereby allowing violations of the amendment's provisions to continue unchecked. The other options provided do not directly relate to the ineffectiveness of the amendment: - **Most African American leaders praised the Fourteenth Amendment:** This is true and would have **supported** the amendment's goals. - **The amendment gave power to Congress to pass more laws to enforce the amendment:** This provision was intended to **strengthen** the amendment's impact, not weaken it. - **All of the former Confederate states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment:** In reality, not all former Confederate states immediately or fully ratified the amendment, and their resistance played a role in the continued challenges to its enforcement. **Correct Answer:** Many local officials and judges refused to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment.