14th Amendment

Extracted Attributes

• Purpose

  Guaranteeing citizenship and equal protection under the law

• Key Clauses

  Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause, Insurrection Clause

• Enforcement Power

  Section 5 grants Congress the power to enforce the amendment through appropriate legislation

• Ratification Date

  1868-07-09

• Historical Context

  Reconstruction Era, Post-American Civil War

• Passed by Congress

  1866-06-13

Timeline

• The 14th Amendment is passed by the U.S. Congress. (Source: National Archives)

  1866-06-13

• The House Joint Resolution proposing the amendment is submitted to the states. (Source: National Archives)

  1866-06-16

• The 14th Amendment is ratified by the required number of states. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1868-07-09

• The Secretary of State issues a certificate declaring the amendment ratified as part of the supreme law of the land. (Source: National Archives)

  1868-07-28

• The Slaughter-House Cases provide the first major Supreme Court interpretation of the amendment, specifically the Privileges or Immunities Clause. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1873-04-14

• Brown v. Board of Education uses the Equal Protection Clause to prohibit racial segregation in public schools. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1954-05-17

• Loving v. Virginia uses the amendment to end bans on interracial marriage. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1967-06-12

• Roe v. Wade recognizes a federal right to abortion based on the Due Process Clause. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1973-01-22

• The Colorado Supreme Court removes Donald Trump from the presidential ballot citing the Section 3 insurrection clause. (Source: Document d6ad65b4-1ee6-41ad-b655-1afeb7fa17c9)

  2023-12-19

• The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Trump v. Anderson, limiting the application of Section 3 for federal elections. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-03-04

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law at all levels of government. The Fourteenth Amendment was a response to issues affecting freed slaves following the American Civil War, and its enactment was bitterly contested. States of the defeated Confederacy were required to ratify it to regain representation in Congress. The amendment, particularly its first section, is one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution, forming the basis for landmark Supreme Court decisions, such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954; prohibiting racial segregation in public schools), Loving v. Virginia (1967; ending interracial marriage bans), Roe v. Wade (1973; recognizing federal right to abortion until overturned in 2022), Bush v. Gore (2000; settling 2000 presidential election), Obergefell v. Hodges (2015; extending right to marry to same-sex couples), and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023; prohibiting affirmative action in most college admissions). The amendment's first section includes the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause. The Citizenship Clause broadly defines citizenship, superseding the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which held that Americans descended from African slaves could not become American citizens. The Privileges or Immunities Clause was interpreted in the Slaughter-House Cases (1873) as preventing states from impeding federal rights, such as the freedom of movement. The Due Process Clause builds on the Fifth Amendment to prohibit all levels of government from depriving people of life, liberty, or property without substantive and procedural due process. Additionally, the Due Process Clause supports the incorporation doctrine, by which portions of the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states. The Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people, including non-citizens, within its jurisdiction. The second section superseded the Three-fifths Compromise, apportioning the House of Representatives and Electoral College using each state's adult male population. In allowing states to abridge voting rights "for participation in rebellion, or other crime," this section approved felony disenfranchisement. The third section disqualifies federal and state candidates who "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion," but in Trump v. Anderson (2024), the Supreme Court left its application to Congress for federal elections and state governments for state elections. The fourth section affirms public debt authorized by Congress while declining to compensate slaveholders for emancipation. The fifth section provides congressional power of enforcement, but Congress' authority to regulate private conduct has shifted to the Commerce Clause, while the anti-commandeering doctrine restrains federal interference in state law.

Web Search Results

• Introduction - 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary ...

  The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil [...] Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States." This guide provides access to digital collections, websites, and print materials related to the amendment. Introduction Digital Collections Related Online Resources External Websites Print Resources ## History, Humanities & Social Sciences: Ask a Librarian Have a question? Need assistance? Use our online form to ask a librarian for help.

• Reconstructing Citizenship

  The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is one of the nation’s most important laws relating to citizenship and civil rights. Ratified in 1868, three years after the abolishment of slavery, the 14th Amendment served a revolutionary purpose — to define African Americans as equal citizens under the law. Although its promises have not always been upheld, the 14th Amendment has provided African Americans and other groups in society with a legal basis to challenge discrimination, demand equal rights [...] The 14th Amendment also included provisions relating to voting and representation in Congress. It amended the 3/5ths clause in the Constitution, stating that population counts would be based on the “whole number of persons” in a state—all people would be counted equally. It also protected the right to vote “for all male citizens age 21 or older,” though it would take another amendment to the Constitution (the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870) to ban voting restrictions based on race. Women [...] The 14th Amendment defines all persons born in the United States as citizens. It also extends the rights of due process and equal protection of the laws to any person, regardless of citizenship status. But from Reconstruction to today, various groups in society have had their citizenship status and civil rights ignored or redefined through executive order or legislation. In demanding to be included and recognized as “We the People” whose rights the Constitution protects, these Americans have

• The Fourteenth Amendment - U.S. Constitution - FindLaw

  The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified during the Reconstruction Era, gives Americans a bundle of rights, including birthright citizenship, equal protection, and due process. It provides a solid foundation for a more perfect union. And our understanding and application of the Fourteenth Amendment have evolved as our nation has evolved. [...] The Fourteenth Amendment’s second clause deals with privileges and immunities. The privileges and immunities clause ensures that all citizens enjoy the same rights in each state. SCOTUS, the final arbiter of U.S. Constitutional law, has wrestled with defining these privileges and immunities since the Amendment became law. [...] Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment in 1866 during the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. Although African Americans briefly enjoyed some freedoms, many states quickly imposed legislation, the Black Codes, to control them. The Black Codes covered almost every area of life, from labor to marriage, and required strict racial separation. It was clear that the federal government needed to intervene.

• 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)

  Following the Civil War, Congress submitted to the states three amendments as part of its Reconstruction program to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens. A major provision of the 14th Amendment was to grant citizenship to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States,” thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people. [...] On June 16, 1866, the House Joint Resolution proposing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the states. On July 28, 1868, the 14th amendment was declared, in a certificate of the Secretary of State, ratified by the necessary 28 of the 37 States, and became part of the supreme law of the land. [...] Citation: The House Joint Resolution Proposing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, June 16, 1866; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-1999; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives. View All Pages in the National Archives Catalog View Transcript Passed by Congress June 13, 1866, and ratified July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people.

• 14th Amendment | U.S. Constitution - Law.Cornell.Edu

  The Fourteenth Amendment addresses many aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens. The most commonly used -- and frequently litigated -- phrase in the amendment is "equal protection of the laws", which figures prominently in a wide variety of landmark cases, including Brown v. Board of Education (racial discrimination), Roe v. Wade (reproductive rights), Bush v. Gore (election recounts), Reed v. Reed (gender discrimination), and University of California v. Bakke (racial quotas in [...] ‹ 13th Amendment up 15th Amendment › [...] No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same,