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Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
1868 amendment addressing citizenship rights, civil and political liberties / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868. It was one of the Reconstruction Amendments. The amendment discusses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws. It was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. This amendment was bitterly contested. Southern states were forced to ratify it in order to regain representation in Congress. The Fourteenth Amendment is one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution. It forms the basis for landmark decisions such as Roe v. Wade (1973), and Bush v. Gore (2000). It remains the most important Constitutional amendment since the Bill of Rights was passed in 1791.
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Representative John A. Bingham of Ohio, the main author (framer) of the Fourteenth Amendment