Eleanor Finch
The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, was a landmark piece of legislation that extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people and Black citizens. The amendment's primary purpose was to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to all citizens, regardless of race, and to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Constitution were applicable at both the federal and state levels. It also granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, thereby granting citizenship to those who had been previously enslaved. Additionally, the Fourteenth Amendment provided Congress with the power to enforce its provisions, leading to the passage of other significant civil rights legislation in the 20th century, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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What You'll Learn
Extended rights to formerly enslaved people
The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution extended liberties and rights to formerly enslaved people. Passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, the amendment was part of a Reconstruction program to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens.
A key provision of the 14th Amendment was the granting of citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," which included formerly enslaved people. This overruled the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which stated that African Americans were not and could not become citizens. The 14th Amendment also provided for due process and equal protection under the law, ensuring that the federal and state governments could not deprive individuals of their rights without just cause.
The 14th Amendment had a significant impact on the lives of formerly enslaved people, allowing them to pursue the benefits of citizenship and seek justice. It enabled African Americans to define their visions of citizenship, with autonomy being a central theme. They sought to claim their place in the nation they helped build and to choose where they lived. The amendment also led to the reunification of families, as African Americans celebrated families of all types and valued the communities that supported them.
However, despite the intentions of Congressman John A. Bingham and Senator Jacob Howard, who wanted the 14th Amendment to nationalize the Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court initially ruled that it did not extend the Bill of Rights to the states. This meant that, in practice, the amendment failed to protect the rights of Black citizens as effectively as intended. It would take ongoing efforts by citizens, Congress, and the executive branch to make the promises of the 14th Amendment a reality in the 20th century.
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Overruled the Dred Scott decision
The Dred Scott case began in 1846 when Dred Scott, an enslaved Black man, and his wife, Harriet, sued for their freedom in St. Louis Circuit Court. They argued that they were free because they had lived with their enslaver in the free Territory of Wisconsin. The odds were initially in their favour, and a lower court ruled in their favour, but the case eventually reached the Supreme Court.
In 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney read the majority opinion of the Court, which stated that enslaved people were not citizens of the United States and therefore could not expect any protection from the federal government or the courts. The opinion also stated that Congress had no authority to ban slavery from a federal territory. This decision inflamed the national debate over slavery and played a crucial role in the events that led to the American Civil War four years later.
The 14th Amendment, passed by Congress in 1866 and ratified in 1868, explicitly overruled the Dred Scott decision by granting citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States. Section 1 of the Amendment, known as 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." This clause was specifically intended to overrule the Dred Scott decision and extend citizenship to formerly enslaved people.
The Citizenship Clause also had the effect of nationalizing the Bill of Rights by making it binding upon the states. While the Supreme Court initially ruled that the 14th Amendment did not extend the Bill of Rights to the states, this interpretation has evolved over time. The Amendment was also the basis for later civil rights legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which further protected the rights of Black citizens.
In conclusion, the 14th Amendment directly overruled the Dred Scott decision by granting citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States, regardless of race. This had the effect of extending the rights and protections of the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people and provided a foundation for future civil rights legislation.
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Applied the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause to state governments
The Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause allows the government to seize private property for public use, but only if it provides "just compensation" to the property owner. The Fourteenth Amendment extended the Fifth Amendment's constraints on the exercise of eminent domain to state governments.
The Takings Clause is the last clause of the Fifth Amendment and reads as follows: "...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." The clause does not prevent the government from seizing private property, but it does place a limit on that power. The government can only seize property if it compensates the owner fairly.
The Supreme Court has recognised the government's ability to take property as inherent to its powers. In United States v. Great Falls Mfg. Co. (1884), the Court confirmed that the federal government must compensate a private property owner for the loss of property resulting from a federal river project. The Court has also held that the Takings Clause is intrinsic to the Fifth Amendment's objective of protecting citizens from government power.
In 1897, the Supreme Court determined in Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago that the Fourteenth Amendment applies the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause to state governments. This began an ongoing process of incorporation. The Supreme Court has explicitly rejected incorporation of the Fifth Amendment's Grand Jury Clause and Seventh Amendment, and it has never addressed the Third Amendment.
The Takings Clause has been the subject of several Supreme Court cases, including Kelo v. City of New London (2005), in which the Court ruled in favour of the city, allowing it to condemn and take properties for a development project. The majority cited the development's "expected public benefits" as satisfying the "public use" requirement. This decision was highly controversial, and many Americans disagreed with it. In response, several states passed laws and constitutional amendments to protect citizens against government takings.
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Prevented enforcement of southern states' Black Codes
The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868. The amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people.
After the abolishment of slavery in 1865, southern states passed laws known as Black Codes, which restricted the civil rights of newly freed African Americans and forced them to work for their former enslavers. The Fourteenth Amendment was intended to undo these attempts by southern states to enforce limits on African Americans in both political and social spheres.
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was written to constitutionalize the anti-discrimination principles of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and prevent the enforcement of southern states' Black Codes. The amendment formally defines United States citizenship and protects various civil rights from being abridged or denied by any state law or state action.
Section 1 of the amendment states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens and are entitled to equal protection of the laws. This section was specifically intended to counter the discriminatory Black Codes of southern states and extend equal rights to African Americans.
Despite the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, southern states continued to resist the expansion of civil rights for African Americans. Most southern states refused to ratify the amendment, and those that did often failed to properly enforce it, creating discriminatory laws such as the Jim Crow laws that restricted the rights of African Americans.
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Granted Congress the power to enforce the amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868. The amendment granted Congress the power to enforce it, which led to the passage of other landmark legislation in the 20th century, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This provision gave Congress the ability to hold states accountable for upholding the rights and liberties outlined in the amendment.
One of the key aspects of the Fourteenth Amendment is its focus on citizenship and civil rights. Section 1 of the amendment formally defines United States citizenship, stating 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 overruled the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision, which had denied citizenship to African Americans. The Citizenship Clause also constitutionalized the Civil Rights Act of 1866, granting citizenship to all born within the United States, except children of foreign diplomats.
The Fourteenth Amendment's impact on civil rights is significant. It includes the Due Process Clause, which applies the Fifth Amendment's protections to state governments, ensuring that no state can deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Additionally, the amendment's Equal Protection Clause was written to constitutionalize the anti-discrimination principles of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and prevent the enforcement of southern states' Black Codes, which discriminated against African Americans.
The enforcement power granted to Congress by the Fourteenth Amendment has been pivotal in safeguarding the rights of citizens. It allowed Congress to address voting rights issues, particularly in relation to racial discrimination. The amendment's passage led to the Fifteenth Amendment, which explicitly prohibited the denial of voting rights based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Congress also used its enforcement power to enact legislation, such as the broad enabling statute under Section 5, to further strengthen voting rights protections.
In conclusion, the granting of enforcement power to Congress by the Fourteenth Amendment was a crucial step in ensuring the protection of civil rights and liberties for all citizens, particularly those who had been historically marginalized. This power enabled Congress to pass additional landmark legislation and hold states accountable for upholding the rights guaranteed by the amendment.
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Frequently asked questions
The 14th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868. It was intended to extend liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people, guaranteeing equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens.
The 14th Amendment changed a portion of Article I, Section 2. It also formally defines US citizenship, granting citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States", and protecting civil rights from being denied by any state law or state action.
The 14th Amendment granted Congress the power to enforce the amendment, which led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
