Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Definition and stakes

The theme of “Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States” has been addressed by authors such as James Madison, Hugo Black, Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln and James A. Garfield. It is often associated with terms like citizenship, state, Congress, court and process.

Quotes about “Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States”

The Constitution of the United States of America…

“ The Fourteenth Amendment does not impair the authority of the States to determine finally, according to their settled usages and established modes of procedure, issues which do not involve any right secured by the Constitution, an act of Congress, or a treaty. As long as a local tribunal acts in consonance with the Constitution, laws and procedure of its own State and as long as said Constitution and laws are so interpreted as not to violate due process, it is only in exceptional circumstances that the Supreme Court would feel justified in intervening. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

The Constitution of the United States of America…

“ However, the Supreme Court declined to sustain Congress when, under the guise of enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment by appropriate legislation, it enacted a statute which was not limited to take effect only in case a State should abridge the privileges of United States citizens, but applied no matter how well the State might have performed its duty, and would subject to punishment private individuals who conspired to deprive anyone of the equal protection of the laws. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

The Constitution of the United States of America…

“ Constitution * * * I think that the word 'liberty,' in the Fourteenth Amendment is perverted when it is held to prevent the natural outcome of a dominant opinion, unless it can be said that a rational and fair man necessarily would admit that the statute proposed would infringe fundamental principles as they have been understood by the traditions of our people and our law. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

The Constitution of the United States of America…

“ It is well known that the elective franchise has been limited or denied to citizens in various States of the union in past years, but no serious attempt has been made by Congress to enforce the mandate of the second section of the Fourteenth Amendment, and it is noteworthy that there are no instances in which the courts have attempted to revise the apportionment of Representatives by Congress. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

Hugo Black, Wolf v. Colorado — Concurrence

“ It is not amiss to repeat my belief that the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to make the Fourth Amendment in its entirety applicable to the states. The Fourth Amendment was designed to protect people against unrestrained searches and seizures by sheriffs, policemen and other law enforcement officers. Such protection is an essential in a free society. And I am unable to agree that the protection of people from over-Zealous or ruthless state officers is any less essential in a country of 'ordered liberty' than is the protection of people from over-zealous or ruthless federal officers. ”

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Source: Wikisource

William J. Brennan, Jr., United States v. Guest — Dissent

“ Although the Fourteenth Amendment itself, according to established doctrine, 'speaks to the State or to those acting under the color of its authority,' legislation protecting rights created by that Amendment, such as the right to equal utilization of state facilities, need not be confined to punishing conspiracies in which state officers participate. Rather, § 5 authorizes Congress to make laws that it concludes are reasonably necessary to protect a right created by and arising under that Amendment ”

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Source: Wikisource

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