The 14th Amendment

(noun)

The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868 as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling by the Supreme Court (1857) that had held that blacks could not be citizens of the United States. Its Due Process Clause prohibits state and local governments from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without certain steps being taken to ensure fairness. Its Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction.

Related Terms

Examples of The 14th Amendment in the following topics:

  • The 14th Amendment

    • The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.
    • All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
    • But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
    • The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
    • Summarize each of the four main sections of the 14th Amendment

  • The Civil War Amendments

    • The Civil War Amendments protected equality for emancipated slaves by banning slavery, defining citizenship, and ensuring voting rights.
    • The 13th (1865), 14th (1868), and 15th Amendments (1870) were the first amendments made to the U.S. constitution in 60 years.
    • Known collectively as the Civil War Amendments, they were designed to ensure the equality for recently emancipated slaves.
    • Even after the 14th Amendment, native people not paying taxes were not counted for representation.
    • These methods were employed around the country to undermine the Civil War Amendments and set the stage for Jim Crow conditions and for the Civil Rights movement.

  • Johnson's Battle with Congress

    • Johnson ignored this, and openly encouraged southern states to refuse the ratification of the 14th Amendment.
    • The Reconstruction Amendments, the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, were adopted between 1865 and 1870.
    • The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, was ratified in 1865.
    • The 14th Amendment, proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, guaranteed United States citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and granted them federal civil rights.
    • The states were also required to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and grant voting rights to black men

  • The Triumph of Congressional Reconstruction

    • In particular, Johnson encouraged southern states to refuse to ratify the 14th Amendment.
    • The "Reconstruction Amendments" (13th, 14th, and 15th) were adopted in the period from 1865-1870.
    • The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was ratified in 1865.
    • The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, guaranteed United States citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.
    • The 15th Amendment, passed in February 1870, decreed that the right to vote could not be denied on the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".

  • Freedom of Religion

    • Freedom of religion is a constitutionally guaranteed right, established in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
    • The following religious civil liberties are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. " Thus, freedom of religion in the U.S. has two parts: the prohibition on the establishment of a state religion, and the right of all citizens to practice their religion.
    • In addition to the rights afforded under the Establishment Clause, the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment protects the rights of citizens to practice their religions.
    • The Supreme Court has interpreted the 14th Amendment as applying the First Amendment's provisions on the freedom of religion to states as well as to the Federal Government.
    • The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the creation of a state religion in the U.S.

  • The Fifth Amendment, Self-Incrimination, and Double Jeopardy

    • The Fifth Amendment to the U.S.
    • The Fifth Amendment (Amendment V) to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure.
    • For instance, grand juries and the phrase "due process" (also found in the 14th Amendment) both trace their origins to the Magna Carta.
    • The Fifth Amendment protects witnesses from being forced to incriminate themselves.
    • Explain the key provisions of the Fifth Amendment, including self-incrimination and double jeopardy.

  • Nationalizing the Bill of Rights

    • According to the doctrine of incorporation, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies the Bill of Rights to the states.
    • Prior to the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment and the development of the incorporation doctrine, the Supreme Court held in Barron v.
    • After the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, the Supreme Court debated how to incorporate the Bill of Rights into state legislation.
    • On the other hand, some believed that incorporation should be selective, in that only the rights deemed fundamental (like the rights protected under the First Amendment) should be applied to the states, and it should be a gradual process.
    • The Fourteenth Amendment, depicted here, allowed for the incorporation of the First Amendment against the states.

  • The First Amendment

    • The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and protects American civil liberties.
    • Originally, the First Amendment applied only to laws enacted by the Congress.
    • This was done through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment .
    • The Fourteenth Amendment, depicted here, allowed for the incorporation of the First Amendment against the states.
    • The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees Americans the right to a free press.

  • Incorporation Doctrine

    • Bill of Rights to the states, by virtue of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
    • The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.
    • All of the provisions of Amendment I and Amendment II have been incorporated against the state, while the Third Amendment has not yet been incorporated (the Third Amendment refers to the prohibition on quartering of soldiers in civilian homes).
    • Amendment V, the right to due process, has been incorporated against the states.
    • The Fourteenth Amendment, depicted here, allowed for the incorporation of the First Amendment against the states.

  • The Twenty-Seven Amendments of the U.S. Constitution

    • The twenty-seven amendments serve two purposes: to protect the liberties of the people and to change original codes from the constitution.
    • The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.
    • While originally the amendments applied only to the federal government, most of their provisions have since been held to apply to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment.
    • The 14th specifies the post-Civil War requirements and notes that freed slaves are citizens.
    • The 16th modifies the tax system.