The US Constitution can be amended to reflect changes in society. The 14thAmendment of the US constitution was included in 1868. What rights did it allow?
Social Studies · Middle School · Mon Jan 18 2021
Answered on
The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, adopted on July 9, 1868, granted several important rights and protections. Here are the key components:
1. Citizenship Clause: Section 1 of the 14th Amendment defined citizenship, stating that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside. This was particularly significant because it granted citizenship to former slaves who had been emancipated after the Civil War.
2. Due Process Clause: This clause also in Section 1, provided that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. This was a significant expansion of legal protections, as it applied to state governments the same requirement that the Fifth Amendment had previously established for the federal government.
3. Equal Protection Clause: Again, in Section 1, this clause affirmed that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This clause has been the basis for many important decisions regarding civil rights, including the prohibition of racial segregation in schools (Brown v. Board of Education) and the legalization of same-sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges).
4. Privileges or Immunities Clause: This less-cited part of Section 1 was intended to protect the “privileges or immunities” of citizenship from state interference, though its interpretation and application have been more limited than other parts of the 14th Amendment.
5. Sections 2, 3, and 4 dealt with post-Civil War issues such as representation in Congress, participation in rebellion against the United States, and public debt, respectively.