On the Fourteenth Amendment: A Textual Analysis

Abstract

The most significant and lasting results of the Civil War were the 13^th Amendment, abolishing slavery in the US, and the 14^th Amendment, protecting certain privileges, immunities, and rights of citizens and persons in the US. The meaning of the 123^th amendment has been, for the most part clear and uncontroversial. The same cannot be said for the 14^th Amendment. The language of the 14^th is much more complex than that of the 13^th and the interpretation of the meaning of the Amendment has been very controversial since the very first Supreme Court cast attempting to construe it. My article attempts to show that despite that history of controversy and uncertainty of meaning the 14^th amendment is a model of clear constitutional draftsmanship and translucence of meaning.