14th Amendment to the Constitution
By U.S. Congress
The amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States and guaranteed equal protection under the law, becoming the foundation for civil rights litigation.
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What Is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution?
The amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States and guaranteed equal protection under the law, becoming the foundation for civil rights litigation.
The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on July 9, 1868, is one of the most powerful legal tools ever added to the nation's founding document. It granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States — directly overturning the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857, which had declared that Black people were not citizens and had no rights the government was required to respect. In one sweeping amendment, Congress reversed that ruling and declared that Black Americans were full citizens of the United States. The 14th Amendment contains three landmark clauses that transformed American law. The Citizenship Clause made birthright citizenship a constitutional right. The Due Process Clause said that no state could take away a person's life, liberty, or property without following the law fairly. The Equal Protection Clause declared that every person must receive equal treatment under the law — regardless of race. Together, these clauses became the legal foundation for nearly every major civil rights advance in American history. Ratified just three years after the end of the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was part of the Reconstruction era — a period when Congress was trying to rebuild the nation and secure real freedom for formerly enslaved people. Tennessee ratified the amendment voluntarily in 1866 and was quickly readmitted to the Union. The remaining ten former Confederate states were required to ratify the 14th Amendment as a condition of being readmitted under the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, showing how central the amendment was to the nation's transformation. Decades later, the Equal Protection Clause became the backbone of the NAACP's legal strategy. Thurgood Marshall and other brilliant civil rights lawyers used it to argue case after case — including Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which ended school segregation. The 14th Amendment is not just a piece of history. It is a living part of the Constitution that continues to shape American life, law, and the ongoing pursuit of equality.
Historical Context
The 14th Amendment was born out of the chaos and possibility of Reconstruction. After the Civil War ended in April 1865, the country faced a profound question: What rights would formerly enslaved people have? The 13th Amendment had abolished slavery, but it said nothing about citizenship, voting, or equal treatment under the law. Southern states quickly passed Black Codes — laws designed to control the freedom and labor of Black Americans in ways that resembled slavery. Congress responded with the 14th Amendment, which aimed to guarantee real, enforceable rights. The amendment was also a direct response to the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision of 1857. In that case, Chief Justice Roger Taney had ruled that Black people — whether enslaved or free — were not citizens of the United States and could never be. The 14th Amendment explicitly rejected this ruling. By establishing birthright citizenship in the Constitution, Congress made it impossible for the courts to strip Black Americans of citizenship again. The 14th Amendment passed Congress on June 13, 1866, and was sent to the states for ratification. It was a contentious process — several former Confederate states refused to ratify it. Congress responded with the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which imposed military rule on Southern states and required them to ratify the 14th Amendment before they could be readmitted to the Union. Tennessee had already ratified voluntarily in 1866 and was readmitted early. When Louisiana and South Carolina became the final states needed, the amendment reached the three-fourths threshold. On July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment officially became part of the United States Constitution. The amendment has five sections. Section 1 contains the Citizenship, Due Process, and Equal Protection Clauses. Section 3 bars anyone who took an oath to support the Constitution and then engaged in insurrection from holding federal or state office — a direct response to Confederate leaders. Section 4 declared that the United States would honor its war debt but would never pay Confederate war debts or compensate anyone for the loss of enslaved persons. Section 5 gave Congress the power to enforce the amendment through legislation.
Key Excerpts
Important passages from this primary source, presented in kid-friendly language.
"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."
What this means: This is the Citizenship Clause — one of the most important sentences in the entire Constitution. In plain language: if you are born in the United States, you are automatically a citizen. This directly overturned the Dred Scott decision, which had said Black people could never be citizens. For the first time, millions of Black Americans had full, legal citizenship guaranteed by the Constitution.
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
What this means: This single sentence contains three powerful protections. First, states cannot take away the rights of U.S. citizens. Second, the Due Process Clause says the government must follow fair legal procedures before taking a person's life, liberty, or property. Third, and most famously, the Equal Protection Clause says every person must be treated equally under the law. This last clause became the foundation for nearly every civil rights case in American history.
"nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
What this means: The Equal Protection Clause is perhaps the most cited phrase in the entire 14th Amendment. It means that the government cannot treat people differently based on characteristics like race. Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP used these exact words to argue Brown v. Board of Education — the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that declared school segregation unconstitutional.
"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed."
What this means: This clause from Section 2 replaced the notorious Three-Fifths Compromise in the original Constitution, which had counted enslaved people as only three-fifths of a person for representation purposes. Now all people — including Black Americans — would be counted fully. It also reduced representation for states that denied voting rights to male citizens.
Vocabulary Spotlight
Key words and phrases from this primary source.
Citizenship Clause
The part of the 14th Amendment stating that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens
Due Process Clause
The constitutional protection requiring the government to follow fair legal procedures before taking away a person's life, liberty, or property
Equal Protection Clause
The constitutional guarantee that every person must receive equal treatment under the law
Naturalization
The legal process by which a person who was not born as a citizen becomes one
Ratification
The formal approval of a constitutional amendment by the required number of states
Reconstruction
The period after the Civil War (1865–1877) when the country rebuilt the South and attempted to secure equal rights for formerly enslaved people
Dred Scott decision
The 1857 Supreme Court ruling that declared Black people were not citizens of the United States — a decision the 14th Amendment directly overturned
Privileges or immunities
The rights and protections that belong to citizens of the United States
Impact & Legacy
Watch and Learn
Did You Know?
It Directly Overturned a Supreme Court Decision
The Dred Scott decision of 1857 had declared that Black people could never be citizens of the United States. The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment was written specifically to nullify that ruling. It is one of the only times in American history that a constitutional amendment was designed to reverse a Supreme Court decision.
Tennessee Was the Exception — Most Southern States Were Forced to Ratify
Tennessee ratified the 14th Amendment voluntarily in July 1866 and was quickly readmitted to the Union. The other ten former Confederate states refused. Congress then passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, placing those states under military rule and requiring them to ratify the amendment as a condition of readmission. Their votes were essential to reaching the three-fourths threshold.
Thurgood Marshall Built His Career on This Amendment
Civil rights lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall spent decades crafting legal arguments built around the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. His greatest victory was Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, where the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that school segregation violated the equal protection guarantee.
It Replaced the Three-Fifths Compromise
The original Constitution had counted enslaved people as only three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation — a shameful compromise that gave slaveholding states more political power. The 14th Amendment eliminated this by counting all persons fully, fundamentally changing how representation was calculated.
Section 3: Confederates Were Banned from Holding Office
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment bars anyone who took an oath to support the Constitution and then participated in insurrection or rebellion from holding federal or state office. This provision was aimed directly at former Confederate leaders. Congress has the power to remove this disqualification by a two-thirds vote, which it did in 1872 for most former Confederates.
Section 4: America Would Never Pay Confederate War Debts
Section 4 of the 14th Amendment guaranteed that the United States would honor its own war debts — but would never pay Confederate war debts, and would never compensate slaveholders for the loss of enslaved persons. This made it clear that the Union's victory was permanent and that the Confederacy's cause would receive no financial support or recognition.
The Most Cited Amendment in Supreme Court History
The 14th Amendment is the most frequently cited constitutional amendment in Supreme Court cases. Its Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses have been used in hundreds of landmark decisions across more than 150 years — making it one of the most powerful and durable tools for justice in American law.
Related Primary Sources
Other important documents and speeches in Black history.
December 6, 1865 · Constitutional Amendment
13th Amendment to the Constitution
The constitutional amendment that permanently abolished slavery in the United States, declaring that 'neither slavery nor involuntary servitude' shall exist within the nation.
February 3, 1870 · Constitutional Amendment
15th Amendment to the Constitution
The amendment that prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude, though enforcement would take another century of struggle.
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