====== Fourteenth Amendment ======

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments following the Civil War. It comprises five sections addressing citizenship, civil rights, apportionment of congressional representation, disqualification from office, and the validity of public debt. The amendment is among the most litigated provisions of the Constitution and has been the basis for a substantial portion of the Supreme Court's constitutional jurisprudence since the late nineteenth century.

===== Background =====

The amendment was proposed by the 39th Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified by the requisite number of states on July 9, 1868, though the circumstances of ratification — including the exclusion of unreconstructed Southern states from Congress and the conditional readmission of states contingent on ratification — have themselves been subjects of legal and historical debate. For a full account of the amendment's origins, drafting, and ratification, see [[fourteenth-amendment-history|Fourteenth Amendment — History]].

===== Provisions =====

**Section 1** is the most frequently invoked portion of the amendment. It contains four distinct clauses: the Citizenship Clause, which defines national and state citizenship and overruled //Dred Scott v. Sandford// (1857)((//Dred Scott v. Sandford//, 60 U.S. 393 (1857).)); the Privileges or Immunities Clause, which prohibits states from abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; the Due Process Clause, which prohibits states from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; and the Equal Protection Clause, which requires states to afford all persons equal protection of the laws.

**Section 2** revised the apportionment of House seats, replacing the Three-Fifths Compromise and providing for reduction of a state's representation if it abridged the voting rights of adult male citizens.

**Section 3** bars from federal and state office any person who, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution, engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, unless Congress removes the disability by a two-thirds vote of each chamber.

**Section 4** affirmed the validity of the United States public debt and prohibited assumption or payment of debts incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion, as well as any claims arising from the emancipation of enslaved persons.

**Section 5** grants Congress the power to enforce the amendment by appropriate legislation.

===== Current State of Law and Debate =====

Courts, legislators, and legal scholars continue to contest the meaning and application of the amendment's provisions across a wide range of areas. The scope of the Privileges or Immunities Clause was significantly narrowed by the Supreme Court in the //Slaughter-House Cases// (1873)((//Slaughter-House Cases//, 83 U.S. 36 (1873).)) and has remained limited since, though its revival has been advocated by a number of constitutional scholars. The Due Process Clause has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to incorporate most provisions of the Bill of Rights against the states — a doctrine disputed among originalists and others. See [[fourteenth-amendment-incorporation-debate|Incorporation Doctrine — Debate]].

The Equal Protection Clause is the constitutional basis for the Supreme Court's jurisprudence on racial classification, sex discrimination, and other forms of differential treatment by government. The standards of scrutiny applied under that clause — rational basis, intermediate scrutiny, and strict scrutiny — and the categories to which each applies remain active areas of litigation and scholarly dispute.

The Citizenship Clause's application to children born in the United States to parents who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents — commonly called birthright citizenship — is a subject of ongoing legal and political debate. See [[fourteenth-amendment-birthright-citizenship-debate|Birthright Citizenship — Debate]].

Section 3's application to events other than the Civil War, and to the office of President specifically, became the subject of renewed litigation and political controversy beginning in 2023. See [[fourteenth-amendment-section-3-debate|Section 3 Disqualification — Debate]].

===== Consensus Status =====

There is broad consensus among constitutional scholars and courts that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates at least most of the Bill of Rights against the states, that it authorizes heightened judicial scrutiny of racial classifications, and that Section 1 applies to state and local governments rather than private actors. These points of consensus coexist with substantial disagreement on the theoretical foundations, proper interpretive methodology, and precise scope of the amendment's provisions. See [[fourteenth-amendment-constitutional-law-consensus|Fourteenth Amendment — Constitutional Law Consensus]].

===== Viewpoints =====

  * **[[fourteenth-amendment-originalist-viewpoint|Originalist Interpretation]]** — The amendment should be understood according to the original public meaning of its text at the time of ratification in 1868, which proponents argue constrains judicial discretion and limits the amendment's reach compared to later judicial constructions.

  * **[[fourteenth-amendment-living-constitutionalist-viewpoint|Living Constitutionalist Interpretation]]** — The amendment's broad guarantees of due process and equal protection should be interpreted to apply to contemporary circumstances not anticipated by its drafters, providing a basis for expanding recognized rights over time.

  * **[[fourteenth-amendment-incorporation-skeptic-viewpoint|Incorporation Skepticism]]** — The doctrine of incorporating the Bill of Rights against the states through the Due Process Clause lacks adequate textual or historical foundation; some in this camp argue incorporation should instead flow from the Privileges or Immunities Clause, others that it should be more limited in scope.

  * **[[fourteenth-amendment-state-sovereignty-viewpoint|State Sovereignty View]]** — The amendment was intended primarily to address the specific injustices of the post-Civil War period and should not be construed to broadly displace state authority over civil and social matters.

  * **[[fourteenth-amendment-anti-subordination-viewpoint|Anti-Subordination View]]** — The Equal Protection Clause should be interpreted to dismantle systemic hierarchies, permitting or requiring race-conscious measures to remedy ongoing inequalities rooted in historical oppression.

  * **[[fourteenth-amendment-anti-classification-viewpoint|Anti-Classification View]]** — The Equal Protection Clause prohibits government classification by race or similar characteristics regardless of remedial intent, requiring formally neutral treatment of all persons.

===== Related Pages =====

  * [[fourteenth-amendment-history|Fourteenth Amendment — History]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-constitutional-law-consensus|Fourteenth Amendment — Constitutional Law Consensus]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-incorporation-debate|Fourteenth Amendment — Incorporation Doctrine Debate]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-birthright-citizenship-debate|Birthright Citizenship — Debate]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-section-3-debate|Section 3 Disqualification — Debate]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-originalist-viewpoint|Originalist Interpretation — Viewpoint]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-living-constitutionalist-viewpoint|Living Constitutionalist Interpretation — Viewpoint]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-incorporation-skeptic-viewpoint|Incorporation Skepticism — Viewpoint]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-state-sovereignty-viewpoint|State Sovereignty View — Viewpoint]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-anti-subordination-viewpoint|Anti-Subordination View — Viewpoint]]
  * [[fourteenth-amendment-anti-classification-viewpoint|Anti-Classification View — Viewpoint]]
  * [[reconstruction|Reconstruction]]
  * [[due-process|Due Process]]
  * [[equal-protection|Equal Protection]]
  * [[civil-rights-act-1866|Civil Rights Act of 1866]]
  * [[thirteenth-amendment|Thirteenth Amendment]]
  * [[fifteenth-amendment|Fifteenth Amendment]]

===== Notes =====

~~FOOTNOTES~~