Fourteenth Amendment

American  

[fawr-teenth uh-mend-muhnt] / ˈfɔrˌtinθ əˈmɛnd mənt /

noun

1. an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, defining national citizenship and forbidding the states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons.

---

Fourteenth Amendment Cultural  

1. An amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1868. It was primarily concerned with details of reintegrating the southern states after the Civil War and defining some of the rights of recently freed slaves. The first section of the amendment, however, was to revolutionize federalism. It stated that no state could “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.” Gradually, the Supreme Court interpreted the amendment to mean that the guarantees of the Bill of Rights apply to the states as well as to the national government.

---

Example Sentences

Birthright citizenship is rooted in the plain text of the Fourteenth Amendment, which declares that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” are citizens.

From Salon • May 11, 2026

“The Fourteenth Amendment affirms the ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth within the territory,” the majority said, including “all children here born of resident aliens.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has implemented and sustained extensive reforms that demonstrate an enduring commitment to protecting the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of those in it’s jurisdiction,” said Assistant Atty.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2025

The equal protection clause, enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment, guarantees that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 12, 2024

Woodhull pointed out that the Fourteenth Amendment used the word “persons” and that the Founding Fathers had also used the word “persons” rather than distinguish between men and women when they drafted the Constitution.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling