Fourteenth Amendment
Definition
The Fourteenth Amendment is a part of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees equal protection under the law and extends citizenship rights.
Analogy
Think of the Fourteenth Amendment as a safety net at a trapeze show. It's there to ensure that all performers (citizens) are protected equally, regardless of their act (race, religion, gender etc.).
Related terms
Due Process Clause: This clause in the 14th Amendment protects citizens from arbitrary denial of life, liberty or property by government - it's like an extra safety measure for our trapeze artists.
Incorporation Doctrine: This legal principle applies Bill of Rights protections to state laws - kind of like extending our safety net to cover all performances at different venues (states).
Jim Crow Laws: These were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in Southern United States until 1965 - imagine if they tried to separate trapeze artists based on their costume colors; this would be unfair and against the spirit of equal protection offered by our safety net (the 14th amendment).
"Fourteenth Amendment" appears in:
Subjects (1)
Study guides (7)
AP US Government - 1.1 Ideals of Democracy
AP US Government - 1.8 Constitutional Interpretations of Federalism
AP US Government - 3.5 Second Amendment: Rights to Bear Arms
AP US Government - 3.7 Selective Incorporation & the 14th Amendment
AP US Government - 3.8 Amendments: Due Process and the Rights of the Accused
AP US Government - 3.10 Social Movements and Equal Protection
AP US Government - 3.12 Balancing Minority and Majority Rights
Practice Questions (20)
- Which case first applied the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to protect freedom of speech and press?
- What does the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provide?
- What is the purpose of the Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment?
- If Congress hadn't passed legislation enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause during Reconstruction Era, how might this affect modern federalism?
- What is the main focus of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
- How do courts typically interpret Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause with respect to states' powers?
- How does the principle of Equal Protection Clause in Fourteenth Amendment compare with that of Due Process Clause?
- The Fourteenth Amendment includes what clause that has been used for selective incorporation?
- What part of the Fourteenth Amendment is most closely associated with selective incorporation?
- How did the Fourteenth Amendment change states' role in providing equal protection under the law?
- Which constitutional right has been selectively incorporated through the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment ?
- Which Clause in Fourteenth Amendment is utilized for selective incorporation?
- What explains the persistence of using the Fourteenth Amendment for selectively incorporating provisions of the Bill of Rights?
- Which Supreme Court case best demonstrates the concept of selective incorporation under the Fourteenth Amendment?
- Which Supreme Court case could future politicians use as precedent to extend Fourteenth Amendment protections to non-citizens?
- What separates the implications of the Thirteenth Amendment from those of the Fourteenth Amendment?
- How do Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments differ in terms of their influence on penal system?
- What alternate historical path might America have taken if the Fourteenth Amendment, establishing equal protection under law, was never ratified?
- What landmark Supreme Court case decided that a woman’s right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment?
- Which Supreme Court case demonstrates an interpretation of First Amendment rights through the lens of Fourteenth Amendment due process protections?
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