History glossary
Fourteenth Amendment
a constitutional amendment guaranteeing citizenship and equal protection of the laws.
- Category
- Civil rights
- Region
- United States
- Date range
- 1954–1968
What it means
Adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment established national citizenship and restricted states from denying equal protection. The school segregation ruling relied on this guarantee.
Stories using this term
The American Civil War and the Abolition of Slavery
The American Civil War determined the survival of the Union and led to the abolition of slavery, fundamentally reshaping the United States.
The Civil Rights Movement
From school desegregation to Montgomery, Selma and Memphis, organised communities challenged racial exclusion and transformed American democracy.
