Fourteenth Amendment

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution emerged as the result of a congressional debate about how to deal with integrating the southern states into the Union after the Civil War. The amendment was designed to grant slaves citizenship rights and to eliminate the economic and political system that had supported slavery. Further, in addition to ensuring equal protection to all persons, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that no person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. In light of the significant impact that the Fourteenth Amendment has had on legal developments in higher education, this entry reviews its key features along with examples of how it has been applied in specific cases.