Who was most impacted by the 14th Amendment?
Asked by: Mrs. Juliet Ondricka Sr. | Last update: February 6, 2026Score: 4.5/5 (34 votes)
The 14th Amendment most significantly impacted African Americans (formerly enslaved people) by granting them citizenship and equal protection, fundamentally altering their legal status after the Civil War, and has since become the foundation for broader civil rights for many groups, including immigrants, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals, through landmark court cases like Brown v. Board of Education and Obergefell v. Hodges.
Who was 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 ...
Which group of people was most directly affected by the 14th Amendment?
The Fourteenth Amendment was a response to issues affecting freed slaves following the American Civil War, and its enactment was bitterly contested. States of the defeated Confederacy were required to ratify it to regain representation in Congress.
What person or group was most responsible for the passage of the 14th Amendment?
The Fourteenth Amendment was the result of the work of Radical Republicans, a group within the Republican Party that grew in size and influence during Lincoln's years as president.
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.
The 14th Amendment: Understanding its crucial legal impact
Who contributed to the 14th Amendment?
Congressman John A. Bingham of Ohio, the primary author of the first section of the 14th Amendment, intended that the amendment also nationalize the Bill of Rights by making it binding upon the states.
Which president opposed the 14th Amendment?
Johnson opposed the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave citizenship to former slaves. In 1866, he went on an unprecedented national tour promoting his executive policies, seeking to break Republican opposition.
What cases involved the 14th Amendment?
Relevant Cases or Laws
- United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) The Supreme Court upheld the right to birthright citizenship, including the children of non-citizen parents. ...
- Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886) ...
- Brown v. Board of Ed. ...
- Reed v. Reed (1971) ...
- Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
Did the Radical Republicans support the 14th Amendment?
The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution of 1868 (with its Equal Protection Clause) was the work of a coalition formed of both moderate and Radical Republicans.
What was the most important thing the 14th Amendment did?
The 14th Amendment's primary task was to grant citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the U.S. (including formerly enslaved people) and guarantee them equal protection of the laws and due process, extending these fundamental rights from the federal government to the states, thereby ensuring civil rights for Black citizens and laying the groundwork for future civil rights expansions.
Which personal group was most responsible for the passage of the 14th Amendment?
The Radical Republicans in Congress were the most responsible for the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment. They advocated for changes to citizenship rights and equal protections, influencing the terms of the Amendment.
Which group of individuals was originally excluded from the 14th Amendment?
The Common Law provided that all children born in the territory of the sovereign were citizens except for those born to foreign diplomats or hostile occupying forces. Id.. In addition, at the time, many Native Americans born on U.S. soil were also excluded from U.S. citizenship because of their tribal affiliations.
Which group of people was helped most by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments?
Set free by the 13th amendment, with citizenship guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, Black males were given the right to vote by the 15th Amendment.
What is the impact of the 14th Amendment today?
14th Amendment Issues Today: Whose Rights? What Rights? 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.
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 ...
Does the 14th Amendment apply to felons?
States Supreme Court expressly held that the exclusion of felons from voting has an affirmative sanction in Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment. Two of the Fourteenth Amendment has been interpreted as permitting states to disenfranchise those who participate in rebellion or commit some other crime.
Who are the famous moderate Republicans?
Prominent 21st century moderate Republicans include Senators John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine and several current or former governors of northeastern states, such as Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Phil Scott of Vermont.
Who started the Civil Rights Act?
The longest continuous debate in Senate history took place in 1964 over the Civil Rights Act. Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who had proposed the legislation, it was strongly advocated by his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson.
Did Radical Republicans want equal rights?
Radical Republican senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts introduced the Civil Rights Act in 1870 as an amendment to a general amnesty bill for former Confederates. The bill guaranteed all citizens, regardless of color, access to accommodations, theatres, public schools, churches, and cemeteries.
Did the Supreme Court decide on Trump's immunity?
Yes, the Supreme Court granted President Trump broad, but not absolute, criminal immunity for actions considered "official acts" while in office, establishing a framework that gives presidents near-absolute immunity for core functions but none for unofficial conduct, sending the specifics back to lower courts to determine which of Special Counsel Jack Smith's charges qualify as official versus private. The 6-3 ruling established that presidents have immunity for actions falling within their constitutional authority but left it to a trial judge to differentiate these official acts from private conduct, such as Trump's alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Who won in Baker v Carr?
The Court split 6 to 2 in ruling that Baker's case was justiciable, producing, in addition to the opinion of the Court by Justice William J. Brennan, three concurring opinions and two dissenting opinions.
Why was the 14th Amendment considered unsuccessful?
Why was the Fourteenth Amendment considered unsuccessful? The clauses included in the Fourteenth Amendment were not enforced or interpreted consistently by the Supreme Court.
What president ran over a lady with a horse?
On a night in 1853 President Franklin Pierce was returning on horseback from the home of William Morgan in the southeastern part of Washington, D.C. In the pitch-black darkness, the President accidentally ran down Mrs.
Did Abraham Lincoln support the 14th Amendment?
They also called for birthright citizenship, which later would become law in the Fourteenth Amendment. Lincoln repeatedly denied any association with abolitionism and condemned the violence and law-breaking associated with its activism. He opposed slavery but did not espouse racial equality.
What political party supported the 14th Amendment?
“The 14th Amendment, giving full citizenship to freed slaves, passed in 1868 with 94% Republican support in congress.