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.

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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.

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Example Sentences

Justice Anthony Kennedy has written the historic majority opinion that the fourteenth amendment guarantees a right for same-sex couples to marry.

From The Guardian • Jun. 26, 2015

ET10:09 Justice Anthony Kennedy has written the historic majority opinion that the fourteenth amendment guarantees a right for same-sex couples to marry.

From The Guardian • Jun. 26, 2015

The legislature rejected the fourteenth amendment; its adoption would have been political suicide for the members.

From When the Ku Klux Rode by Damer, Eyre

Whether it will be possible under our form of government to carry out this provision of the fourteenth amendment may be doubted, but that it is fast becoming a question of live interest is certain.

From Races and Immigrants in America by Commons, John R. (John Rogers)

Congress admitted Nebraska, but provided that the act should not take effect until the constitution should be changed to harmonize with the fourteenth amendment.

From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady