Definition

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states in Section 1: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; 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 amendment does many things but above all it guarantees equal rights and laws for all Americans. Quick 14th Amendment update. Originally adopted after the Civil War to protect the rights of formerly enslaved people, the 14th Amendment has exponentially expanded the protection of civil rights for all Americans over the past 150 years. It’s been cited in more litigation than any other amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and has been at the center of many of the most famous Supreme Court decisions, including school desegregation (Brown v. Board of Education), abortion (Roe v. Wade) and same-sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges).

Example

Questions

1. How many sections are in The Fourteenth Amendment?

2. What do you think The Fourteenth Amendment is about?

3. What does The Fourteenth Amendment look like as an emoji?

4. Use The Fourteenth Amendment in a sentence of your own design.

5. Section 3 of The Fourteenth Amendment reads: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.” Americans disagree about whether this should disqualify Donald Trump from running for the presidency in 2024. What portion of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment relates to Donald Trump?

6. Do you think Trump should be disqualified from running for office?

7. What does the equal protection clause do?

8. What does the due process clause do?

9. What landmark Supreme Court Cases focus on the Fourteenth Amendment?

10. How has the Fourteenth Amendment changed the U.S.?

Remember!

Now, let’s commit this term to our long-term memory. On a scrap piece of paper, take 10 or 20 seconds to draw The Fourteenth Amendment! Draw with symbols or stick figures if you wish. Nothing fancy. Don’t expect a masterpiece. No one else will see this but you. Look at your drawing. That’s all - now it’s downloaded into your memory. Destroy the piece of paper in a most delightful way.

Further Review