The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution
The Federal Government’s Authority is Imposed Upon the States
Aug 10, 2009
At the end of the Civil War Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 which granted former slaves US citizenship. There was some concern regarding Congress’ authority to pass such a law, and concern that a future Congress might repeal the law. Additionally many Southern States enacted Black Codes that impaired citizenship for former slaves. There was also a need to address issues of congressional representation, former rebels, and debts incurred by the rebellion.
To address these concerns Congress proposed the Fourteenth Amendment and sent it to the States for ratification on June 13, 1866. With the ratification of the twenty-eighth State, South Carolina, on July 9, 1868, it became part of the US Constitution.
The Fourteenth Amendment’s Section 1
The Fourteenth Amendment’s first section is perhaps the most far reaching section of the US Constitution and did much to redefine the relationship between the federal government and the States. It imposed federal power directly upon the States regarding the rights and guarantees of the US Constitution. It consists of three clauses that are known as:
- The Citizenship Clause
- The Privileges and Immunities Clause
- The Due Process Clause
- The Equal Protection Clause
The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1 reads as follows:
“Section 1. 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. 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.”
The Citizenship Clause
Prior to the Fourteenth Amendment the Constitution lacked clear definition of a US citizen. Section 1 defined citizenship, not just of the United States, but of the individual State of residence. All persons born on US soil are US citizens, with excepting persons subject to another nation’s jurisdiction. This exempts the children of representatives of foreign governments, and at the time exempted Native Americans, whose tribes had limited sovereignty.
The Citizenship Clause is the source of controversy today. There have been movements to limit citizenship to the children of illegal aliens born in the US. It appears that a constitutional amendment would be required to allow such limitations.
The Privileges and Immunities Clause
There is such a clause in the Constitution’s Article IV, Section 2. That clause orders a State to treat another State’s citizens in the same way as it treated its own. The Fourteenth Amendment imposed upon States the obligation to confer upon persons within their borders with most of the rights of US citizens granted by the first eight amendments. This is the doctrine of Incorporation, by which most of the Bill of Rights protections became applicable to the States.
The Due Process Clause
The Due Process Clause has become separated into two concepts. One concept is Procedural Due Process. Procedural Due Process provides that a State must provide defined procedures before it can take away someone’s life, liberty or property. The other concept arising out of the clause is referred to as Substantive Due Process, which embodies the concept of fundamental fairness.
The Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause applies to the actions of State governments. State government may not either by legislation or the actions of its agents deprive any person of its protection. The mention of any person thus includes non-citizens as well as citizens as constitutionally protected.
The Fourteenth Amendment’s Section 2
This section changed Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution which counted slaves as only 2/3 of a person for congressional representation. It also provided that if states improperly denied the right to vote to newly freed slaves that their representation in Congress would be lessened.
The Fourteenth Amendment’s Section 3
Participants in the rebellion against the United States were barred from holding federal offices. This limitation could be removed by Congress with a 2/3 majority of both houses.
The Fourteenth Amendment’s Section 4
Section 4 makes clear that any debts incurred by the Confederate government or by States in support of the rebellion would not be paid by the United States or by any State.
The Fourteenth Amendment may be the most far reaching amendment made part of the Constitution. It strengthened the federal government’s power over the States, particularly regarding State treatment of citizens. It laid down the legal framework for the civil rights movement and other issues involving State discrimination of women and the handicapped.
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