The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. The amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people and granted citizenship to "All persons born or naturalized in the United States," thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people. The amendment has several key provisions, including:
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Citizenship Clause: This overruled the Supreme Courts Dred Scott decision that black people were not citizens and could not become citizens, nor enjoy the benefits of citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment provides that children born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction become American citizens at birth.
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Due Process Clause: The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a State from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and from denying to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
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Equal Protection Clause: The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a State from denying to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The amendment also authorized the government to punish states that abridged citizens' right to vote by proportionally reducing their representation in Congress. The Fourteenth Amendment was a major provision of the Reconstruction program to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens.
