ABSTRACT
The wording of the Equal Protection Clause guarantees equal protection of the laws to all persons, not merely to black persons or ex-slaves. Once the Court began employing the clause to evaluate other forms of unequal treatment, however, the problems grew in number and difficulty and have become virtually identical to the problems the Court faced in the area of substantive due process. As an aid in determining whether particular classifications are legitimate and hence permissible under the Equal Protection Clause, the Court initially developed what has been commonly called the two-tier approach. The Court's course in reviewing classifications based on illegitimacy has been even more wavering than its course in reviewing classifications based on alienage. Although it has never labeled illegitimacy a suspect classification, the Court has exercised a degree of heightened scrutiny in most cases involving illegitimacy classifications, which have been struck down with some frequency.
