14th Amendment
CONTENTS
RECONSTRUCTION
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866
THADDEUS STEVENS
14TH AMENDMENT – SECTION 1
14TH AMENDMENT – SECTIONS 2-5
IMPACT OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT
Sources
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former slaves—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” One of three amendments passed during the Reconstruction era to abolish slavery and establish civil and legal rights for black Americans, it would become the basis for many landmark Supreme Court decisions over the years.