Simone Lawson
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution 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 was designed to strike out against the Black Codes and Dred Scott decision, which misinterpreted the Constitution as permanently excluding people of African descent from eligibility for US citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment also established a simple national rule for citizenship: if you're born in America, you're a US citizen. This amendment also gave Congress the power to protect various badges of citizenship against both governments and powerful private actors.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Fourteenth Amendment | Americans are created equal and are citizens of the nation first and foremost |
| It also establishes a simple national rule for citizenship: if you're born in America, you're a U.S. citizen | |
| It grants Congress broad power to define and protect various badges of citizenship against both governments and powerful private actors | |
| It affirms that African Americans are free and equal citizens |
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What You'll Learn
- The Fourteenth Amendment establishes a national rule for citizenship: if you're born in America, you're a US citizen
- The Citizenship Clause gives Congress the power to protect the full and equal citizenship of African Americans
- The Citizenship Clause affirms that African Americans are free and equal citizens
- The Fourteenth Amendment grants US citizenship to everyone born in the US and subject to its laws
- The Fourteenth Amendment repudiates the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which misinterpreted the Constitution as excluding people of African descent from US citizenship
The Fourteenth Amendment establishes a national rule for citizenship: if you're born in America, you're a US citizen
The Fourteenth Amendment also establishes that American citizenship brings with it a set of fundamental "privileges or immunities" – rights protected against abuses by the federal government and one's own state. This aspect of the Amendment is elaborated in the next sentence, which includes express language prohibiting states from abridging the "privileges" and "immunities" of American "citizens".
The Amendment also makes clear that Americans are created equal, with the birth equality idea condemning a racial caste system. This is related to the Citizenship Clause's text, which speaks not just of African Americans, but of "all persons". This sweeping language grants US citizenship to everyone born in the US and subject to its laws.
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The Citizenship Clause gives Congress the power to protect the full and equal citizenship of African Americans
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth 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 clause was designed to strike out against the Black Codes and Dred Scott decision, which misinterpreted the Constitution as permanently excluding people of African descent from eligibility for United States citizenship solely based on their race. The Citizenship Clause gave Congress the power to pass laws that affirmed that African Americans were free and equal citizens. It also allowed Congress to protect the full and equal citizenship of African Americans by shielding them from racially motivated private violence and powerful private systems of pervasive racial exclusion, including in hotels, theatres, trains, and steamships.
The Fourteenth Amendment also established a simple national rule for citizenship: if you're born in America, you're a US citizen. This amendment made Americans citizens of the nation first and foremost, rather than deferring to the racist citizenship determinations of individual states. It also brought with it a set of fundamental "privileges or immunities" – rights protected against abuses by the federal government and one's own state.
The Citizenship Clause's text doesn't protect only African Americans; its sweeping language grants US citizenship to everyone born in the US and subject to its laws. However, it is important to note that there were limits to the Clause's reach. For example, Congress couldn't force whites to invite African Americans to private dinners or promote political equality.
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The Citizenship Clause affirms that African Americans are free and equal citizens
> '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 text was directed at the specific evils of both the Dred Scott decision and the Black Codes. The Citizenship Clause gave Congress the power to overturn this order, not just by going after the actions of state governments, but also through passing laws that affirmed that African Americans were free and equal citizens. The Fourteenth Amendment made Americans citizens of the nation, first and foremost, and established a simple national rule for citizenship: if you’re born in America under our flag, you’re a U.S. citizen. This birth equality idea clearly condemns a racial caste system in which light-skinned children are born lords and dark-skinned children are born serfs.
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The Fourteenth Amendment grants US citizenship to everyone born in the US and subject to its laws
> 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 designed to strike out against the Black Codes and Dred Scott decision, which misinterpreted the Constitution as permanently excluding people of African descent from eligibility for US citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment's text is more capacious than the Fifteenth Amendment's, speaking not just of African Americans, but of "all persons". This grants US citizenship to everyone born in the US and subject to its laws, and establishes a simple national rule for citizenship.
The Citizenship Clause also gave Congress the power to protect the full and equal citizenship of African Americans by shielding them from racially motivated private violence and going after powerful private systems of pervasive racial exclusion, including in privately owned yet distinctly "public" places like hotels, theatres, trains, and steamships.
Furthermore, under the Fourteenth Amendment, American citizenship brought with it a set of fundamental "privileges or immunities" — rights protected not just against abuses by the federal government (as with the original Bill of Rights), but also against abuses by one's own state.
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The Fourteenth Amendment repudiates the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which misinterpreted the Constitution as excluding people of African descent from US citizenship
The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution promotes and protects American citizenship by establishing a simple national rule for citizenship: if you are born in America, you are a US citizen. This amendment repudiates the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which misinterpreted the Constitution as excluding people of African descent from US citizenship. The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth 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 clause was specifically designed to strike out against both the Black Codes and the Dred Scott decision, which denied citizenship to people of African descent.
The Fourteenth Amendment also grants Congress broad powers to define and protect various badges of citizenship against both governments and powerful private actors. This includes the power to protect the full and equal citizenship of African Americans by shielding them from racially motivated private violence and going after powerful private systems of pervasive racial exclusion, such as in hotels, theatres, trains, and steamships.
Furthermore, the Fourteenth Amendment constitutionalises Lincoln's reinterpretation of Jefferson, making clear that Americans are created equal. This birth equality idea clearly condemns a racial caste system in which skin colour determines one's social status. The amendment also establishes that American citizenship brings with it a set of fundamental "privileges or immunities" - rights protected not just against abuses by the federal government but also against abuses by one's own state.
Overall, the Fourteenth Amendment plays a crucial role in promoting and protecting American citizenship by ensuring that all persons born in the United States are considered citizens with equal rights and protections under the law, regardless of race or social status.
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Frequently asked questions
The Citizenship Clause promotes and protects American citizenship by establishing a simple national rule for citizenship: if you're born in America, you're a US citizen. This rule applies to everyone born in the US and subject to its laws, not just African Americans.
The Fourteenth Amendment protects American citizenship by making Americans citizens of the nation, first and foremost. It also establishes a set of fundamental "privileges or immunities" that are protected against abuses by the federal government and one's own state.
The Fourteenth Amendment's first sentence, in tandem with its last sentence, gives Congress broad power to define and protect various badges of citizenship against both governments and powerful private actors. It also makes clear that Americans are created equal, promoting birth equality and condemning a racial caste system.
