Omar Bennett
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution defines citizenship and protects various civil rights. Section 1 of the amendment states that 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. This provision overruled the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision, which excluded people of African descent from eligibility for citizenship based on their race. The Fourteenth Amendment has been central to landmark civil rights legislation and has been frequently litigated, with over seventy proposals for its amendment drafted.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Amendment | Passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868 |
| Amendment Number | Fourteenth Amendment |
| Citizenship Clause | 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 |
| Exceptions | Children of foreign diplomats, children of alien enemies in hostile occupation, children of members of Indian tribes subject to tribal laws |
| Rights | No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States |
| Rights | No State shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law |
| Rights | No State shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws |
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What You'll Learn
The Fourteenth Amendment
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides a basic rule for acquiring U.S. citizenship and confers state citizenship on national citizens residing in a state. It does not, however, address the legal benefits associated with citizenship. The clause also leaves open questions about the acquisition of state and national citizenship, such as whether a state can confer state citizenship on non-U.S. citizens.
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The Citizenship Clause
> "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."
The Fourteenth Amendment's first sentence, in conjunction with its last sentence, grants Congress significant authority to define and protect various privileges of citizenship against governments and influential private entities. The Citizenship Clause also represents a significant shift in American identity by promoting the idea of birth equality and condemning racial and other birth-based caste systems.
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Birthright citizenship
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was adopted on July 9, 1868, states that:
> 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.
This clause is the basis of birthright citizenship in the United States. Birthright citizenship is a legal principle under which citizenship is automatically granted to individuals upon birth. There are two forms of birthright citizenship: ancestry-based citizenship (jus sanguinis) and birthplace-based citizenship (jus soli). Jus soli, a Latin term meaning "right of the soil", grants citizenship based on place of birth.
The Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause was drafted in response to concerns about the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which declared:
> ...all persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States.
The Citizenship Clause was intended to entrench the principle in the Constitution to prevent it from being struck down by the Supreme Court or repealed by a future Congress. The Fourteenth Amendment's first sentence, in tandem with its last sentence, gives Congress broad powers to define and protect various badges of citizenship against governments and powerful private actors. The Amendment also makes clear that Americans are born equal, condemning racial caste systems and other birth-based caste-like systems.
The Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause has been interpreted to mean that children born in the United States to immigrant parents are citizens, regardless of their parents' immigration status. This interpretation was confirmed by the 1898 Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark. However, there are some exceptions to the application of the Citizenship Clause, including children born to diplomatic representatives of a foreign state, children born of alien enemies in hostile occupation, and children of members of Indian tribes subject to tribal laws.
Despite the long-standing recognition of birthright citizenship in the United States, there have been recent attempts by the Trump administration to revoke birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants and people with temporary status in the U.S. These attempts have been blocked by federal courts, which have found the executive orders to be unconstitutional.
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The Civil Rights Act of 1866
The US Constitution defines citizenship in the Fourteenth Amendment. Section 1, Clause 1, of the Fourteenth Amendment, reads:
> 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.
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was drafted in response to the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which had declared that African Americans were not and could not become citizens of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause reversed this decision and affirmed that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens, regardless of race.
> ...all persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States.
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The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment defines citizenship in the US Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment 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."
The Citizenship Clause was directed at the specific evils of both the Dred Scott decision and the Black Codes, and it marked an important shift in American identity. The Fourteenth Amendment's text is capacious, speaking not just of African Americans, but of "all persons." This sweeping language grants US citizenship to everyone born in the country and subject to its laws. The only relevant exception is for those who owe their allegiance to another sovereign, such as the children of foreign diplomats.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified on July 9, 1868.
The Citizenship Clause states that "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."
The Citizenship Clause was drafted to resolve questions about the acquisition of citizenship that were contested before the Civil War. It also served to repudiate the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which declared that African Americans were not and could not become U.S. citizens.
