The Constitution & Amendments

In Simple, Modern English

Section 1 makes people born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction U.S. and state citizens. States may not abridge U.S. citizens' privileges or immunities, deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process, or deny equal protection.

Section 2 apportions House seats by counting whole persons, with its historical exclusion for Indians not taxed. Its original wording provides a proportional representation penalty when states deny specified voting rights to male citizens 21 or older, except for rebellion or other crime. Later voting-rights amendments expanded constitutional protections.

Section 3 disqualifies specified former oath-taking officials who engage in insurrection or rebellion or aid enemies, unless two-thirds of each chamber removes the disability.

Section 4 protects lawful U.S. public debt and rejects rebel debts and claims for emancipated enslaved people.

Section 5 lets Congress enforce the amendment.

Important Clauses & Details

Section 1: Citizenship

Birth or naturalization in the United States, together with being subject to U.S. jurisdiction, establishes national citizenship and citizenship in the state of residence.

Section 1: Three state restraints

Privileges or Immunities protects rights of U.S. citizenship. Due Process limits state deprivation of life, liberty, or property. Equal Protection requires states to respect constitutional equality. Through incorporation, most Bill of Rights protections now also bind states.

Section 2: Representation

Whole-person population counting replaces the Three-Fifths formula. The section also provides a representation penalty for certain denials of voting rights, using historical language about male citizens aged 21. Later amendments separately prohibit voting discrimination based on race and sex and protect citizens aged 18 or older.

Section 3: Insurrection disqualification

The provision concerns specified officeholders who previously swore to support the Constitution and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion or aided its enemies. Congress may remove the disability by two-thirds in each chamber. Application and enforcement have generated substantial constitutional disputes.

Sections 4-5: Debt and enforcement

Lawfully authorized U.S. public debt is valid, including Union war-related obligations. Confederate debts and compensation claims for emancipated enslaved people are void. Congress may pass appropriate legislation enforcing the amendment's provisions.

Selective incorporation and the Due Process Clause

Selective incorporation is the Supreme Court’s application of particular Bill of Rights protections to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The Bill of Rights originally limited the federal government. Incorporation developed right by right, rather than applying every provision automatically at once.

Incorporation is selective

No. Most protections apply, but not all. The Fifth Amendment’s federal grand-jury indictment requirement and the Seventh Amendment’s civil-jury guarantee have not been incorporated against the states. Equal Protection and Due Process are distinct Fourteenth Amendment clauses.

Connecting incorporation to Mapp v. Ohio

Mapp v. Ohio connects a Fourth Amendment remedy, exclusion of evidence from unconstitutional searches, to state prosecutions through the Fourteenth Amendment. It does not require acquittal whenever police make an error, and it does not eliminate lawful warrant exceptions.

Why It Was Added

After emancipation, Southern Black Codes restricted the freedom of formerly enslaved people. Reconstruction lawmakers sought secure citizenship and national protections against state abuse. The amendment rejected the Dred Scott decision's exclusion of Black people from national citizenship and addressed consequences of the Civil War.