The Fourteenth Amendment: Nationalizing The Bill Of Rights

The Fourteenth Amendment, added to the US Constitution in 1868, played a crucial role in nationalizing the Bill of Rights. This amendment was proposed in the aftermath of the Civil War, aiming to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens, including formerly enslaved people. While the Fourteenth Amendment fell short of fully extending the Bill of Rights to the states, it marked a significant shift in imposing restrictions on the powers of state and local governments. The amendment's impact on nationalizing the Bill of Rights was further solidified in 1925 with the Gitlow v. New York decision, where the Court took a substantial step toward making rights similar to those in the Bill of Rights applicable across the nation.

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The Fourteenth Amendment's role in nationalising the Bill of Rights

The Fourteenth Amendment, passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, played a significant role in nationalizing the Bill of Rights. Before the Civil War, the Bill of Rights held a restricted position in American constitutional law, as it could only be used to challenge the powers of the national government, not those of state and local governments.

The Fourteenth Amendment aimed to address this by imposing restrictions on the powers of state and local governments. One of its key provisions stated that "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." This Due Process Clause became a pivotal tool in nationalizing the Bill of Rights.

The Fourteenth Amendment's primary author, Congressman John A. Bingham of Ohio, intended to nationalize the Bill of Rights by making it binding upon the states. This intention was echoed by Senator Jacob Howard of Michigan, who stated that the privileges and immunities clause would extend to the states "the personal rights guaranteed and secured by the first eight amendments."

However, the Fourteenth Amendment's immediate impact on nationalizing the Bill of Rights was limited. For over fifteen years after the Twining decision, the Supreme Court did not explicitly rule that the rights in the Bill of Rights restricted state and local governments. Nonetheless, in 1925, with the Gitlow v. New York case, the Court took a significant step toward nationalization. While affirming Benjamin Gitlow's conviction for advocating criminal anarchy, the Court acknowledged that the Due Process Clause protected freedom of speech against restrictions by state and local governments.

Over time, through a series of decisions and interpretations of the Due Process Clause, the Supreme Court incrementally expanded the application of the Bill of Rights to state and local governments. This process, known as "incorporation", transformed the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause into a powerful tool for protecting individual liberties at the state and local levels, effectively nationalizing the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights' restricted role before the Civil War

The Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments to the US Constitution, was proposed by the Congress in 1789 and ratified in 1791. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to individuals, including freedom of speech, press, and religion. It also sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States.

The Bill of Rights played a restricted role in American constitutional law before the Civil War. The rights contained in the Bill of Rights could only be used to challenge the national government's abuse of power and not those of state and local governments. This was because the Bill of Rights initially only applied to the federal government, a restriction affirmed by Barron v. Baltimore (1833).

The Supreme Court also spent much of the 19th century focused on issues relating to intergovernmental balances of power. The most common constitutional violations went unchallenged because the people whose rights were denied were those who were least aware of their rights and least able to afford a lawyer. They had no access to the courts.

In the 20th century, most of the Bill of Rights' provisions were applied to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment, a process known as incorporation. The Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1868, after the Civil War, and imposed restrictions on the powers of state and local governments. The Fourteenth Amendment also extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people.

The Fourteenth Amendment's failure to extend rights to the states

The Fourteenth Amendment, passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. However, it failed to extend these rights to the states and protect the rights of Black citizens.

The Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution in the wake of the Civil War, with the intention of imposing restrictions on the powers of state and local governments. Despite this, the Supreme Court ruled for many years that the amendment did not extend the Bill of Rights to the states. This interpretation was based on the text and history of the Due Process Clause, which may not support the incorporation of every provision of the Bill of Rights.

Congressman John A. Bingham of Ohio, the primary author of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment, intended to nationalize the Bill of Rights, making it binding upon the states. When introducing the amendment, Senator Jacob Howard of Michigan stated that the privileges and immunities clause would extend to the states "the personal rights guaranteed and secured by the first eight amendments." However, historians disagree on how widely shared these views were at the time, and the Supreme Court did not explicitly contradict this interpretation.

In conclusion, while the Fourteenth Amendment extended rights to formerly enslaved people, it fell short of nationalizing the Bill of Rights by making it applicable to state and local governments. The interpretation of the amendment by the Supreme Court and the ongoing struggle for civil rights highlight the complexities and limitations of this constitutional amendment in extending protections to all citizens.

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The Fourteenth Amendment's impact on the powers of state and local governments

The Fourteenth Amendment, passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, had a significant impact on the powers of state and local governments. The amendment was added to the Constitution in the wake of the Civil War, with the aim of imposing restrictions on the powers of state and local governments and extending liberties and rights to formerly enslaved people.

One of the key provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment was its impact on citizenship. It granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people, and provided all citizens with "equal protection under the laws." This provision extended the protections of the Bill of Rights to the states, making it binding upon them. The amendment also authorized the federal government to punish states that infringed on citizens' right to vote by reducing their representation in Congress.

The Fourteenth Amendment also played a crucial role in shaping the relationship between the federal government and the states. It empowered Congress to enforce the amendment's provisions through appropriate legislation. For example, in the Slaughter-House Cases (1873), the Supreme Court held that Section 5 of the amendment allowed Congress to enforce the Equal Protection Clause on states that refused to repeal their Black Codes. Additionally, the amendment restricted the ability of individuals who had "engaged in insurrection" against the United States from holding certain offices without the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate.

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment also had a significant impact on state and local governments. It prevented state governments from depriving any person of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." This clause has been invoked in numerous court cases, such as Ex parte Young (1908), where the Supreme Court held that private individuals could seek federal injunctions against state officials to prevent the enforcement of unconstitutional laws.

However, it is important to note that the Fourteenth Amendment did not extend all rights in the Bill of Rights to the states. While it provided a framework for protecting the rights of citizens, the process of nationalizing the Bill of Rights and incorporating it into state law was a gradual one, with some rights being applied more broadly than others.

Overall, the Fourteenth Amendment significantly impacted the powers of state and local governments by imposing restrictions, extending rights to formerly marginalized groups, and shaping the relationship between the federal government and the states. It provided a foundation for ensuring equal protection under the law and safeguarding individual liberties.

The Bill of Rights' addition to the Constitution as a political compromise

The addition of the Bill of Rights to the US Constitution was a crucial political compromise that helped shape the country's government. Emerging from the Philadelphia convention in 1787, the proposed new Constitution did not initially include a bill of rights. However, during the struggle over ratification, a widespread criticism was the absence of a bill of rights, and concerns were raised about potential encroachment on individual rights by the proposed national government.

The Federalists, supporters of the new Constitution, recognised that their opponents, the Anti-Federalists, would never embrace the Constitution without amendments protecting specific rights. As a result, they promised that if the Constitution were ratified without changes, the addition of a bill of rights would be proposed by the first Congress after ratification. This compromise, known as the Massachusetts Compromise, secured ratification and paved the way for the Bill of Rights.

James Madison, a key figure in this process, drafted a bill of rights that was proposed by Congress in 1789. Madison's proposed amendments aimed to balance gaining support in both houses of Congress and addressing the concerns of the states. He focused on rights-related amendments, avoiding structural changes to the government. Ten of the proposed amendments were ratified by the required number of states in December 1791, becoming the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights.

While the Bill of Rights was now part of the Constitution, it initially played a restricted role. The rights could only be invoked to challenge the national government and not those of state and local governments. It was only after the Civil War, with the addition of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, that the Bill of Rights began to be extended to restrict the powers of state and local governments as well. This process of nationalizing the Bill of Rights continued over time, converting the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment into a second American Bill of Rights, further solidifying the protection of individual rights and liberties.

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