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1868

institutional court case legislation

Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment

National, US

Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment
Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment

The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in July 1868, establishing that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens and prohibiting states from denying equal protection or due process. It explicitly repudiated the Dred Scott decision and guaranteed citizenship to formerly enslaved people. The amendment became the cornerstone of later civil rights litigation and enforcement.

Civil rights movement Slavery & emancipation

Primary sources & references

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