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essay on 14th amendment

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What is the Fourteenth Amendment?

What does the fourteenth amendment forbid.

Fourteenth Amendment

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The Fourteenth Amendment is an amendment to the United States Constitution that was adopted in 1868. It granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and enslaved people who had been emancipated after the American Civil War. It included them under the umbrella phrase “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.”

When was the Fourteenth Amendment ratified?

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was submitted for ratification on June 16, 1866, and on July 28, 1868, it was ratified and entered into force.

The Fourteenth Amendment forbids the states from depriving any person of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” and from denying anyone equal protection under the law. The amendment also prohibits former civil and military office holders who had supported the Confederacy from again holding any state or federal office.

Fourteenth Amendment

Fourteenth Amendment , amendment (1868) to the Constitution of the United States that granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and slaves who had been emancipated after the American Civil War , including them under the umbrella phrase “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” In all, the amendment comprises five sections, four of which began in 1866 as separate proposals that stalled in legislative process and were later amalgamated, along with a fifth enforcement section, into a single amendment.

This so-called Reconstruction Amendment prohibited the states from depriving any person of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” and from denying anyone within a state’s jurisdiction equal protection under the law. Nullified by the Thirteenth Amendment , the section of the Constitution apportioning representation in the House of Representatives based on a formula that counted each slave as three-fifths of a person was replaced by a clause in the Fourteenth Amendment specifying that representatives be “apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed.” The amendment also prohibited former civil and military office holders who had supported the Confederacy from again holding any state or federal office—with the proviso that this prohibition could be removed from individuals by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of Congress . Moreover, the amendment upheld the national debt while exempting the federal government and state governments from any responsibility for the debts incurred by the rebellious Confederate States of America . Finally, the last section, mirroring the approach of the Thirteenth Amendment , provided for enforcement.

Close-up of terracotta Soldiers in trenches, Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China

The full text of the amendment is:

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. 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. 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. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Among those legislators responsible for introducing the amendment’s provisions were Rep. John A. Bingham of Ohio , Sen. Jacob Howard of Michigan , Rep. Henry Deming of Connecticut , Sen. Benjamin G. Brown of Missouri , and Rep. Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania . The Congressional Joint Resolution proposing the amendment was submitted to the states for ratification on June 16, 1866. On July 28, 1868, having been ratified by the requisite number of states, it entered into force. However, its attempt to guarantee civil rights was circumvented for many decades by the post-Reconstruction-era black codes , Jim Crow laws , and the U.S. Supreme Court ’s “separate but equal” ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

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essay on 14th amendment

Essay On 14th Amendment

Equal protection clause under the 14th amendment.

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects any person within their jurisdiction of their due process and equal protection. The Equal Protection Clause under the 14th Amendment requires the states to apply their laws equally to any person within their jurisdiction. The equal protection clause aims to provide equal application of the law. It is also crucial to the protection of civil rights. There should be no discrimination in its application. Also no state can deny any person of their equal protection rights. The laws of a state must treat an individual in the same manner as others in similar conditions or circumstances. Due process deals with the fair use or enforcement of laws. The Due Process clause protects any person of their

The 14th Amendment: Segregation In Schools

The 14th amendment essentially grants citizenship to all people born in The United States. The law also states no person can be denied "equal protection of the laws." In many states this law freed slaves. This changed because of the 14th amendment it allowed colored people to vote and voice their opinions. The fourteenth amendment was passed on July 28, 1868. Segregation in schools violated the 14th amendment because “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” and therefore the Supreme Court made schools include whites and colored people in the same schools. Essentially separate but equal was not actually equal so changes were made. It was a difficult transition because many people did not want this. During 1957 the Little Rock

14th Amendment: Significant Changes To The Constitution

The 14th Amendment was one of the most significant changes to the Constitution. The amendment contains the equal protection of the laws clause. It was added to the Constitution after the Civil War. The rules that the amendment states have been the result of several Supreme Court cases. The amendment has deeply influenced American History and the perception of equality. The Citizenship clause states that anyone born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the U.S. and their state. The Due Process law states that no state may deprive any person of life liberty or death. Perhaps the most important clause is the equal protection of the law. The equal protection of the law clause guarantees that every citizen receives the same rights,

Essay Over The Tenth Amendment

There have been many controversies over the Tenth Amendment for quite some time. The amendment was designed to divide and limit the powers of the national and states’ government. It protects the states and its’ people from the national government becoming too powerful. However, the question that has been asked repeatedly and holds the most concern is, has the national government overstepped its power? The Tenth Amendment should be modified in favor of the states.

Essay On The 13th Amendment

Before, during, and long after the Civil War blacks were discriminated against in almost every form of life. They had to fight and be patient to be accepted as equals among their white counterparts; this process took form over a long period of time, and after many failures, blacks were truly equal in the eyes of the government. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments which were passed in the late 1860’s were supposed to bring political, social, and economic equality for the blacks; however, this was not the case, while in some facets of life blacks obtained more freedoms they had to wait many years after these amendments were passed to be fully equal to whites.

Essay On 28th Amendment

Far too long in this great country of ours have the big corporations taken advantage of the people at the bottom. Unfortunately, because of our laissez-faire oriented feelings this leaves millions of Americans who need to rely on government programs in order to survive. With this in mind the 28th Amendment will tackle the problem of big corporations head on with as little government intervention as possible.

Argumentative Essay About The 13th Amendment

Angela Davis Once said “Well for one, The 13th Amendment to the constitution of the U.S. which abolished slavery, did not abolish slavery for those convicted of a crime.” Although the amendment was desperately needed it made more problems for the U.S.The thirteenth amendment was about abolishing slavery. Many people had different opinions about this amendment. The amendment affected our nation dramatically.

What Is The 14th Amendment Essay

After slavery, African Americans in the south were in a time of change. Though they were free from slavery, whippings, and auctions, I believe life became difficult for them even after slavery ended. Racism began to grow increasingly, as many could not accept the fact that there was no more slavery. It became stricter when the government in the South enforced laws called Black Codes. Those laws were set to grant only certain rights to people of color. Employment for black people was unfair, as they were often paid much less than their white companions. The fourteenth amendment was created in 1868 and promised African Americans the rights of equal American citizenship. Many of the African Americans were homeless and separated from their family for years, sometimes never being able to see them again.

Argumentative Essay On The Fourth Amendment

Back in 1975, there was a major case called, Payton V. New York. Theodore Payton was suspected of murdering a gas station manager, they found evidence within his home that connected him with the crime. What caused the problem was the fact New York had a law that allowed unwarranted searches if the person was a suspect. Based off the oral argument presented by Oyez, the police said it didn't count as the evidence because it was in public view when entering the home. It had to be appealed before it was determined as unconstitutional.

The 14th Amendment: Implicit Language

The explicit meaning of the 14th Amendment is to give Americans equality. In the 14th Amendment it states,” All persons born or naturalized in the United States.” “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States .” No state can make or support any laws that take away the rights of U.S. citizens. To understand the intent and purpose of the 14th Amendment, one must analyze the language

Essay On The 14th Amendment

The 14th amendment is split into five sections. Section one is the most important of them all and it states, “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 Constitution 2014). However it was put to test in the south early on. Even though it granted Blacks citizenship it did not give them equality, and soon arose numerous

US Supreme Court Case: The Mapp Vs. Ohio Case

On June 19, 1961, the Mapp v. Ohio case was taken to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. The situation addressed in court was a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment states that people have the right to be secure in their houses, and it forbids unreasonable searches and seizures. Mapp took to court when police forcibly entered her home in Cleveland, Ohio without showing any warrant. The police suspected Mapp of harboring a bomb suspect in her home and possessing illegal betting equipment. After she refused to let them in, the police torn off the screen door and broken the glass to gain entry. Mapp argued it was an invasion of privacy along with a violation to the Bill of Rights and Constitution. While the police did not find either of the two things they were looking for; they did find other illegal material in

Argumentative Essay: The 14th Amendment

The fourteenth amendment protects the little people. The people who are slipping through the cracks, the ones that have fallen by the wayside of the majority. Recently, this has meant rulings in favor of same-sex marriage. Historically, it has granted women the right to an abortion and given African Americans the right to go to the same schools as their fellow Americans. In each case, an oppressed or otherwise infringed group from the overreaches of the state, the society at large. But something else has begun to slip through the cracks, and nobody is rushing to save it. It is impossible to tell where this slippage first began, but its ever increasing severity is in full display: Middlebury students turnings their backs and chanting as the

The Three Reconstruction Amendments

The Fourteenth Amendment has 4 sections that have been in use since the Civil War. The first section is the most important and most discussed. It guarantees citizenship to any and all persons born or naturalized in the United States. It ensures any person 's “life, liberty, or property” will not be denied without due process.” This section defines citizenship, who can become a citizen of the United States and how. This includes slaves, which is why it was so important in 1868 after the Civil War. But today, it also defines citizenship in immigrants and gives them the right to live and work in the US. If we didn’t have this amendment, we would not be able to experience the cultures of other countries, and we would not be known as “the melting pot” of culture we are today. With the power of the Fourteenth Amendment, we can define what makes a citizen, prevent anyone who took an oath against or conspired against the United States from holding any position of office in out government, allow states to make and change laws if necessary, and ensure that citizen cannot have the right to “life, liberty, and property” taken away from them without due

Supreme Court Case: The Case Of Mapp Vs. Ohio

The case of Mapp vs. Ohio is a case of illegal search and seizure. It went to the Supreme Court in 1961. It is important to today’s society because it might mean the difference between guilty and innocent. I agree with the Supreme Court because it is illegal to access private property without a warrant or consent. The case lasted until June 19, 1961.

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14th Amendment Essay

The Right to Privacy: The Issues of Number One and Two

The argument that bathrooms should not be gender inclusive is a relatively new one, as for much of American history, public restrooms, where multiple people have occupied a single space, were not the societal norm. The first law separating bathrooms by the sexes came in 1887 when Massachusetts passed a law that factories had to provide gender-specific restrooms for women in the workforce (Rhodan,) but other laws supporting this idea did not become common until the 1920s. The United States Of America has, for a time, taking a marked issue with implementing inclusionary practices into its legal protections for those who are not of the cultural majority. We can see evidence of this in landmark cases that involve discriminatory practices based upon a person’s race (Loving v. Virginia )(Brown v. Board of Education)(Plessy v. Ferguson) marital status (Griswold v. Connecticut) and sexual orientation (Obergefell v. Hodges)(Lawrence v. Texas) In these cases, the Supreme either upheld long-standing societal norms or deemed through thorough consideration that the central issues of each case were indeed a violation of personal protections provided to individuals under section 1 of the 14th amendment, which provides citizens of the United States equal protection under the law, the 4th amendment, which grants a reasonable expectation to privacy and protection from unreasonable search and seizure and the 9th amendment which grants protections to individuals not already outlined in the existing amendments. It is through analysis of the cases presented that one is able to draw parallels to the issue of whether the personal privacy of an individual, or group of people should be extended to what is considered to be one of the most private of places. Furthermore, with the issue of gender identity being at the forefront of the bathroom discussion, let us define what gender and sex mean in a modern context and how those who may not fit into the default categories may be affected by enforcing bathroom use for the sex you were assigned at birth.

Let us begin by looking at three cases that involve the use of standardized segregation and the way in which the court interprets the protections that are afforded to those in the social majority versus those considered to be a minority. In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the central issue revolved around the Separate Car Act, 1890 La. Acts No. 111, p. 152 § 1, in which the state of Louisiana passed an act that stated that all railways must provide African Americans a separate car to ride in on a train. The plaintiff argued that because mandating separation of the races was akin to a class system, it would be in violation of the 13th amendment which gave African Americans freedom from slavery, indentured servitude, and full rights as American citizens, as well as violating his equal protection under the 14th amendment. The Supreme Court decided in a seven to one majority, with one justice abstaining from voting, that the idea of separate but equal was strong enough to stand on its own in respect to providing protections to African Americans under the13th and 14th amendments. In this case, the court asserted that the Separate Car Act, was not in violation because it was only drawing a distinction between two races and was not specifically labeling one race as inferior to another. Because it was not designed to place African American individuals in a form of slavery, it did not violate the 13th amendment and because it did not label one race superior over another, rather it gave each race equal provisions in a separate space, it was not in violation of the 14th amendment.

Let us jump forward to a case that took place just 59 years later in 1955, to a Supreme Court case that began to tear down the will of segregated life in the southern states. In Brown v. Board of Education, the central issue that was argued by the plaintiffs was that the lower courts had issued improper judgments in allowing the segregation of races in public schools. The rule here was the implementation of southern Jim Crow laws in 18 states during the reconstruction period that made segregation legal and mandatory for schools and used the idea that as long as the children of a different race were being provided a like opportunity for education in the form of a scholastic environment, then they were in no way treating them different and were providing them equal protection under the 14th amendment. After carefully reviewing the facts of this case, the court reached the decision because there was not only a marked cultural acknowledgment of the difference between white and black students, but a large gap in the quality of education, funding of black schools, and building structures. Therefore students who attended black schools were not afforded the same opportunities for learning in the public school system and were indeed having their right to equal protection infringed upon. The court remanded the case back down to the lower courts with the provision that they do everything within their power to desegregate schools in a timely manner.

To further examine the issue of racial segregation, let’s move forward another 12 years to 1967 and look at the case of Loving v. Virginia. In this case, the plaintiff argues that because the state of Virginia would not allow a marriage to exist between an African American and white couple to be performed in the state and refused to recognize their union they had to go to another state to marry and that refusing them their right to was in violation of their 14th amendment rights for due process and equal protection. The statutes that expressly forbade this were Va. Code Ann. §§ 20-58 and 20-59, did not allow the mixing of white blood with anything other than Native American. Because the Lovings traveled to Washington D.C. to acquire a marriage license but continued to reside in the state of Virginia, the state found them in violation of the aforementioned statutes and sentenced them to a year in prison, were they to remain in the state. After moving to D.C., the Lovings filed suit against the state of Virginia on the basis of denial of their equal protection rights under the 14th amendment. Upon review of the facts of this case, the Supreme Court came to a unanimous decision that there was no rational evidence that should not permit two individuals of different races from being able to marry, other than the idea of racial inferiority, which has no scientific basis and that denying them the right to marry was based solely on racial discrimination. The court struck down the lower court’s opinion that because there was an equal application of the law to anyone who violated the statute it was in concurrence with the 14th amendment and stated that the need to marry is a basic civil right and that denying people the right to marry directly infringed on their right of due process.

Next, we will move on to the issues that members of the LGBTQ+ community have faced when seeking equal protection under the same laws that govern all citizens of the United States and see how it took the court time to adjust to allowing groups who were of the minority to gain full and equal rights, where in just 2015 same-sex marriage was legalized in all states. Let us begin by examining the case of Obergefell v. Hodges where the plaintiff argued that because same-sex couples are denied the right to marry under state laws in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, these states additionally refused to acknowledge marriages occurring in other states, they were denied equal protection and due process under the 14th amendment. Upon review, the court could not find a reason to deny same-sex couples the right to marry as marriage is viewed as a fundamental right and offers certain legal protections and social connotations that were being withheld. In making their judgment, the court drew heavily on the case of Loving v. Virginia to make their decision as again, those in the social minority were being denied equal legal protection under the guise of discriminatory practices. In a 5/4 split, the court reversed the decisions made by the lower courts and deemed that because same-sex couples were being denied basic fundamental rights in not being able to marry, these laws were unconstitutional in their legality and therefore the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

essay on 14th amendment

To see how the court finds issues of the most private of human processes, sex, and the reproductive process that may occur from it, we will also examine the court’s sides with the citizens on sexual acts. Let us look at Lawrence v. Texas in which the state of Texas, along with 12 other states, had a law in its state constitution, which banned members of the same sex from engaging in “deviant” sexual acts, which is a class C misdemeanor. The key issue of this case revolves around whether Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.06(a) (2003), which treated deviant sexual conduct as a class C misdemeanor, the same level as a traffic ticket, was in violation of the 14th amendment’s equal protection and due process clauses. In this case, a homosexual couple was in their home, engaging in intimate acts when their residence was invaded by police officers who had been given false information that there was a domestic disturbance involving a gun. When the officers discovered the two individuals in coitus, they proceeded to arrest both parties pursuant to the state penal code, and the individuals would so on be found guilty, jailed, and subsequently fined for engaging in consensual sexual acts within the privacy of the own home. The Court found that the social stigma that went along with the enforcement of a statute that only impacted same-sex individuals was not minor and that there was no legitimate reason that would justify the intrusion into personal and private life and attempting to control the private life of a citizen, the state was indeed violating the plaintiff’s 4th, 14th, and 9th amendment rights. In a 5-4 split, the Supreme court struck down the Texas statute and overruled a previous decision made by the court in 1986’s hearing of Bowers v. Hardwick, that deemed Georgia’s ban on sodomy constitutionally sound.

For our final Supreme Court case, we will take a look at the case of Griswold v. Connecticut from 1965. This case, like the last, centers around the right to privacy, but rather than the actual instance of sex, it deals with the use of contraceptive materials. The Connecticut Gen. Stat. § 53-32 (rev. 1958) made it illegal to not use contraceptives and to distribute, or prescribe contraceptive medications to people. Upon review, the court found that the state of Connecticut violated the 4th amendment’s right to personal privacy and the 9th amendment, which grants rights not already outlined in the constitution, as well as the 3rd and 5th amendments. The undue hardship of not having contraceptives may impose on those who may have unwanted pregnancies is a clear violation of personal privacy and by disparaging citizens from the use of contraceptives the state infringed upon their personal rights. The court’s 7-2 decision struck down the ban on contraceptives and made it legal for married couples to seek forms of contraceptives.

Now that we have examined cases in which the Supreme court has deemed that personal privacy and equal protection should be extended to all citizens, even those in the social minority, we can begin to apply the same key ideas to the question of whether or not the same right to privacy should be extended to those who are part of the transgender community and if the plublicly private space of a bathroom falls under the right for privacy. For clarification, we will define the term transgender and whether or not it may be deemed an immutable trait. A transgender individual is simply someone whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. Many individuals who are transgender do not undergo gender reassignment surgeries, hormone treatment, or dress in the gender in which they feel they are. Others may choose to take the necessary steps to live comfortably with the gender they associate with.

As for the matter of whether or not gender identity is an immutable trait, the role of gender has long shaped the social construct of humanity. Until recently, men and women have shown very little deviation from predetermined gender roles, but as of late women have begun taking on positions of a higher power in the workforce and men are more often taking on the role of caregivers, blurring the normative gender lines. Interestingly, according to the Intersex Society of North America, a recent scientific study conducted at Brown University titled “How Sexually Dimorphic Are We? Review and Synthesis” shows that anywhere from .5 to 2 percent of the population from 1955 to 2000 was born with some form of sexual dimorphism, meaning they exhibit some sexual trait (primary, secondary, genetic, or hormonal) that does not coincide with their assigned gender at birth. If we go with the median number of this estimate, it would place the number of individuals who have some form of sexual dimorphism much higher than the .5 percent of the population that identifies as transgender. To assume that all individuals who exhibit feelings of gender dysphoria would also have some form of gender dysmorphia would be a stretch, to say the least, but considering the number of individuals who have gender nonconforming traits from birth is considerably larger than those who identify as transgender, it is not unthinkable that there would be some form of overlap. Additionally, in 2007 a study titled “Male-to-Female Transsexuals Show Sex-Atypical Hypothalamus Activation When Smelling Odorous Steroids” by the Karolinska University Hospital shows that the transgender exhibits hypothalamic activation when smelling pheromones more in line with the brain activity of the gender they identify as being. While it is not arguable that physical traits can be altered, brain chemistry is much harder to change. These facts should be considered as scientific evidence that transgender individuals have an immutable characteristic that should be protected under the privacy afforded by the 4th amendment and the right to full and equal protection under the 14th amendment.

To discuss the bodily rights of an individual is to invade the personal privacy of an individual who is merely seeking to relieve themselves in a public bathroom facility. We have seen that the Supreme court, while slow to embrace protections for those in the minority, the court has over time, come to support that all citizens, regardless of sex, race, age, or marital status should be shown equal protection under the law. In several countries in continental Europe, is not uncommon to find unisex, multioccupancy bathrooms, thereby eliminating the concern of members of the opposite gender, or trans individuals being in the same bathroom. While it is not socially prevalent in the United States, these types of restrooms are becoming more prevalent, partially out of economic concerns, as there would only be one space needed, rather than two, but also from shifting cultural norms, as the younger generations are becoming more sexually liberal and are shaking off the bondage of sexual repression. There is nothing more personal than the body and the processes it undergoes and the personal protections provided by the 4th amendment should be enough that individuals who wish to use the bathroom should not be subjected to proving that they are of a certain gender in order to use it.

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Example Of The 14th Amendment Essay

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: United States , Law , Protection , Court , Amendment , America , Criminal Justice , Crime

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The constitution of the United States has been amended several times. In fact, it has been changed 27 times in order to revise and correct the original one so as to apply new provisions for the benefit of the general public. One of the constitution’s amendments is the 14th Amendment, which is included in the Reconstruction Amendments that happened after the Civil War. In this study we discussed that the 14th Amendment originated from the country’s history along with the reasons why it has been added to the constitution. Thus, this amendment provides several purposes as to why it has been added that implicated people’s lives overtime. As such, the amendment also became the basis for court decisions as well as the basis of promoting equal protection and rights to the American People.

The History of the 14th Amendment

Slavery was one of the biggest issues that many African Americans faced. However, major change happened after the Civil War. When the 14th Amendment was ratified, the United States government did not put limitations in immigration (14thamendment.us). That is because the reforms were focused on the injustice issues former African American slaves. This amendment was approved in 1868 in order to protect the African Americans’ rights as they were being denied because of their social status. The ratification of the constitution aimed to prevent the state governments from denying the citizenship to Black Americans. Conversely, the country has no formal policy during that time when it comes to immigration, and the authors of this law did not see the importance to address immigration in this amendment.

Amendment Purpose

The amendment says that all persons that are naturalized or born in the United States are considered citizens of the country as well as of the state where they live (law.cornell.edu). Therefore, it means that the amendment prevents any state government in the country to enforce or to make separate laws that will remove the immunities and privileges of a US citizen. Additionally, it says that no state government in the country can deprive a person’s property, life, or liberty, without going through the due process. The purpose of this amendment is to protect any person from being denied from his or her privileges as a citizen of the United States by any state government in the country. It provides equal benefits to the people of the country to gain from the law’s protection against any violation of their citizen’s rights. Generally, as long as the person is a citizen to the United States, he or she is entitled for a protection within the jurisdiction of the law.

Amendment in Plain English

There are several parts of the 14th Amendment that may be unclear to other persons especially if it will be just read in verbatim. For instance, the section 5 of this amendment states that “The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article” (law.cornell.edu). In plain English, it simply means that the House of Representatives, on behalf of its members or the congressmen has the authority to implement the rules stated in the law using the approved regulation. In this case, it is the enclosed rules in the 14th amendment that gives protection to the American people. On the other hand, the 14th amendment was crafted clearly in general, which can be understood by more people than those who see it somewhat vague.

Amendment’s Implications Overtime

The amendment’s provisions resulted in a significant shift in terms of the relationship between the States and the Federal Government (vlex.com). Implication started right after the Civil war in which the treatments toward African Americans have changed as they are no longer slaves in the country. Overtime, the social status of the black Americans changed as they were treated as citizens of the country. Thus, they were entitled to receive equal rights and protection under the rule of law. On the other hand, the interpretation of various legislators on the 14th has also been changed overtime. For instance, it was stated that the original intent of this amendment was not to support illegal aliens who tried to defy the country’s law such as providing US citizenship for their children (14thamendment.us). However, a negative implication of this amendment is the potential unwanted growth of the US population due to “Anchor Babies”. They are the children who were born in the country to their illegal alien parents that will pull in the latter into becoming US citizens.

One of the court cases that has been decided based on the 14th Amendment is the Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court based its decision on the Due Process Clause of the amendment (religoustolerance.org). It states that the right of personal privacy was viewed as implicit in such clause. As a result, the court held Roe’s right to personal liberty, which has been violated by the State of Texas’ abortion statute. The section 1 of the 14th Amendment was emphasized by the court’s decision.

Works Cited

The 14th Amendment. "The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution - Fourteenth Amendment - anchor babies and birthright citizenship - interpretations and misinterpretations - US Constitution." N.p., Web. <http://www.14thamendment.us/birthright_citizenship/original_intent.html>. Cornell University Law School. "14th Amendment | Constitution | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute." N.p., Web. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv>. Religious Tolerance. "Roe v. Wade: Its basis, court philosophies, and political aspects." N.p., Web. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/aborvw.htm>. vLex Global Legal Intelligence. "Fourteenth Amendment. Section 1: Privileges and immunities of citizenship, due process and equal protection - Constitutions." N.p., Web. <http://constitutions.vlex.com/vid/fourteenth-immunities-citizenchip-equal-295998?utm_expid=6072114-15.wkYviiCHQw-2rOlOmla-dQ.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.ph%2F>.

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