9 July 1868
Fourteenth Amendment establishes citizenship and equal protection
United States; formerly enslaved people and other persons
Section 1 recognized United States and state citizenship for persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. It prohibited states from abridging citizens’ privileges or immunities, depriving any person of due process, or denying any person within their jurisdiction equal protection.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
Citizenship and equal protection have different scopes: the latter protects persons, including noncitizens. The amendment also gave Congress enforcement power; it did not itself guarantee equal treatment in practice.
Additional historical context
Birth citizenship and naturalization were distinct, and the status of free Black people was disputed before Dred Scott. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 recognized birth citizenship, with exclusions, before the Fourteenth Amendment constitutionalized it.