Who did the 14th Amendment impact the most?
Asked by: Ms. Ardith Armstrong | Last update: February 12, 2026Score: 4.9/5 (19 votes)
The 14th Amendment most profoundly impacted formerly enslaved African Americans by granting them citizenship and equal protection, but its broad language on citizenship and rights has since benefited nearly all marginalized groups, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and even corporations, forming the bedrock for landmark civil rights cases and expanding individual liberties against state power. It fundamentally redefined American citizenship and equality, extending federal protections to cover all citizens.
Who was most impacted by the 14th Amendment?
Passed by the Senate on June 8, 1866, and ratified two years later, on July 9, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people, and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws,” extending the provisions of ...
Who did the 14th Amendment benefit?
The 14th Amendment defines all persons born in the United States as citizens. It also extends the rights of due process and equal protection of the laws to any person, regardless of citizenship status.
Who will be affected by the 14th Amendment?
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that, with few discrete exceptions, people born in the United States are citizens of this country, irrespective of race, ethnicity, or national origin of their parents.
What impact has the 14th Amendment had on U.S. history?
The 14th Amendment has shaped huge parts of American life. It's been invoked in a wide range of U.S. Supreme Court cases on issues ranging from same-sex marriage and interracial marriage to school segregation and access to birth control.
The 14th Amendment: Understanding its crucial legal impact
Is the 14th Amendment the most important?
Because of its breadth, today the Fourteenth Amendment remains one of the most judicially scrutinized texts in all of the Constitution and continues to play a vital role in guiding courts and the political branches in safeguarding rights and ensuring equality.
What movement did the 14th Amendment lead to?
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments passed after the Civil War and transformed the women's rights movement.
Who did the 14th Amendment exclude?
The Citizenship Clause overruled the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision that African Americans could not become citizens. The clause constitutionalized the Civil Rights Act of 1866's grant of citizenship to all born within the United States, except the children of foreign diplomats.
Why is the 14th Amendment so controversial?
The 14th Amendment is controversial due to its "male" language (angering suffragists), its broad and debated interpretation (especially the Equal Protection Clause), Southern states' resistance during Reconstruction, and ongoing debates about its application to modern issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, with critics arguing it oversteps federal power or has been used to invent rights not intended by the framers, according to this overview by Congress.gov.
Who does the 14th Amendment limit?
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.
Why was the 14th Amendment considered unsuccessful?
For many years, the Supreme Court ruled that the amendment did not extend the Bill of Rights to the states. Not only did the 14th Amendment fail to extend the Bill of Rights to the states; it also failed to protect the rights of Black citizens.
What is the 14th Amendment in kid words?
The 14th Amendment definition for kids centers on granting citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. (including formerly enslaved people) and guaranteeing "equal protection of the laws" for all citizens, meaning states can't treat people unfairly; it's a key part of the Constitution ensuring basic rights like life, liberty, and due process for everyone, making sure everyone gets fair treatment under the law.
Did the 14th Amendment apply to immigrants?
Yes. The Fifth and 14th Amendments' due process clauses protect every person within U.S. borders, regardless of immigration status.
Which party supported the 14th Amendment?
Following a heated campaign between President Johnson and the Reconstruction Republicans over the future of the 14th Amendment, the Republican Party won a landslide victory in the congressional elections of 1866, solidifying their political power over Reconstruction policy.
When did blacks get rights?
Following the Civil War, three constitutional amendments were passed, including the 13th Amendment (1865) that ended slavery; the 14th Amendment (1869) that gave black people citizenship, adding their total for Congressional apportionment; and the 15th Amendment (1870) that gave black males the right to vote (only ...
Did the 14th Amendment end slavery?
The Fourteenth Amendment was one of three amendments to the Constitution adopted after the Civil War to guarantee black rights. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Fourteenth granted citizenship to people once enslaved, and the Fifteenth guaranteed black men the right to vote.
What is the loophole of the 14th Amendment?
The loophole is made possible by the United States' longstanding policy of granting citizenship to children born within its territorial borders regardless of whether the parents of such children have violated the nation's sovereignty by crossing the border illegally.
What Amendment is the most controversial?
The Fourteenth Amendment was the most controversial and far-reaching of these three Reconstruction Amendments.
Who was the 14th Amendment intended for?
This law was passed after the end of the U.S. Civil War as a way to affirm the rights of Black Americans who were formerly enslaved. In addition to legally establishing what defines citizenship, the 14th Amendment guaranteed equal protection under the law.
What are criticisms of the 14th Amendment?
This is because, for the first time, the proposed Amendment added the word "male" into the US Constitution. Section 2, which dealt explicitly with voting rights, used the term "male." And women's rights advocates, especially those who were promoting woman suffrage or the granting of the vote to women, were outraged.
Why did President Johnson veto the Civil Rights Act?
Representative Henry Raymond of New York noted that the legislation was “one of the most important bills ever presented to this House for its action.” President Johnson disagreed with the level of federal intervention implied by the legislation, calling it “another step, or rather a stride, toward centralization and ...
Which Amendment gives the right to overthrow the government?
“From the floor of the House of Representatives to Truth Social, my GOP colleagues routinely assert that the Second Amendment is about 'the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government if that becomes necessary,' that it was 'designed purposefully to empower the people to be able to resist the force of ...
Are Native Americans a birthright citizen?
Native Americans born in the U.S. are U.S. citizens, and ICE cannot detain or deport them for immigration violations. Since 1924, federal law has guaranteed Native American citizenship. A 2025 Executive Order has ignited debates on the Fourteenth Amendment, referencing past denials of Native rights.
Who wrote the 14th Amendment?
These debates may not even tell the most important story. Two other stories may be a better guide to what the members of Congress, and especially John Bingham, the primary author of Section one of the Fourteenth Amendment, had in mind when they wrote the Amendment.
Did Susan B. Anthony oppose the 15th Amendment?
That same year, Anthony and Stanton split from other suffragists like Lucy Stone and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and created the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) which opposed the 15th Amendment since it did not include gender. Anthony adamantly continued her opposition as editor of The Revolution.