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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.

Historical Background

Efforts to heal the nation began in 1868 when the states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Congress had passed the Fourteenth Amendment in 1866, but it did not become the law of the land until it was ratified two years later. In fact, the Fourteenth Amendment was the result of a compromise between radicals and moderates regarding treatment of former Confederates. Previously, Republicans in the 39th Congress formed a Joint Committee of Fifteen to resolve the difficulties associated with former Confederate state congressmen by granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

The first section of the Fourteenth Amendment has been the focus of a great amount of litigation. According to this section, no state, which the courts have interpreted as including public officials acting on behalf of states, may abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens; deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; or deny any person within its jurisdiction their equal protection of the law. The Fourteenth Amendment Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses shield all individuals from unfair and unjust treatment, protection that has been extended to all regardless of race, sex, religion, or age.

Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment provides for representation in Congress, changing the three-fifths compromise, wherein five slaves were counted as equal to three free persons in determining a state's representation in the House of Representatives, into the provision that all persons in a state counted individually for representation except Indians, who were not taxed. Section 3 calls for removing from Congress all of those who fought against the United States in the Civil War. Section 4 validates the debt of the United States, voids all debts incurred to support the rebellion, and expunges all claims for slave compensation. Section 5 grants Congress the authority to pass legislation to enforce the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Judicial Interpretation

The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses ensure that persons are protected from all forms of discrimination. The Amendment was designed to give civil rights protection to minorities and the voiceless. Early Supreme Court cases after the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted limited the scope of the law, clarifying its provisions.

The Slaughterhouse Cases in 1873 examined a monopoly in Louisiana, wherein the Supreme Court adopted a limited view of the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment with regard to state action. When independent butchers sought protection for their occupation, the Court reiterated the principle that state legislatures have always exercised the power of granting exclusive rights when necessary to protect the public good. While such power is not forbidden by the Thirteenth Amendment in conjunction with the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Court explained that the main purpose of these articles was to protect the due process rights of all individuals. Even so, in the late 1890s, southern and border states implemented Jim Crow laws and Black Codes that led to mandatory segregation of Blacks in all public places and private businesses, including cemeteries and institutions of higher learning.

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