Constitution - 14th Amendment

The 14th amendment formally defines U.S. citizenship as anyone “born or naturalized in the United States.” This extended citizenship to formerly enslaved people who had once been considered property. The 14th amendment also includes a due process clause that applies to state and local governments. Similar to the 5th amendment, this amendment upholds fair trial proceedings in state and local courts, stating that “No person...shall be denied life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” This reflects the expectation that the government and courts must treat everyone equally and fairly. Neither the government, nor its officials, can bypass the law on their own authority. The concept of political and legal equality is also expressed in the 14th Amendment, which prohibits the state governments from denying to any person within their jurisdiction the “equal protection of the laws.” The 14th Amendment was initially intended to prohibit racial discrimination, but its scope has been broadened to include prohibition against legal discrimination on the basis of gender or age.