What was the inpact of the 14th amendment on the power of state governments?

Answer 1

The 14th Amendment is broken down into 5 sections. The first section deals with all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof and their citizenship status. The second section deals with apportionment of Congress, and changes the constitutional privilege of counting slaves as three fifths persons in order to maximize their Congressional representation to all persons, given that the 13th Amendment had abolished slavery there were no more three fifths persons in the United States. The second section also defines the privilege of voting as being granted to males over twenty one years of age. The third section denies those people who've taken an oath to uphold the Constitution then turned around and rebelled against it, or aided and abetted enemies who sought to destroy the Constitution. This was written to prevent heroes of the South to gain or regain election to Congress where they might continue their insurrections. The fourth section deals with the debt left behind from the civil war and validates the debt of the federal government brought on by quelling the insurrection and denies any debt owed to those who fought with the rebellion. The fifth section allows Congress to write the necessary laws to accomplish this restructuring of Constitutional boundaries and if necessary to create any administrative agency necessary to enforce the laws they have written.

How does the 14th Amendment pertain to federal and state governing? Given the language of the first section it is ultimately unclear exactly how it does pertain to our government. The wording of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment is troubling and even disturbing as it appears to be granting to people rights they all ready possessed. Section 1 of the 14th Amendment states:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, Are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

In a historical context we can understand it was written so that the newly emancipated slaves could rely upon equal protection under the law. In a legal context it is flawed logic. The logic is that those people denied their natural rights because of slavery will now be granted those rights by the United States of America. It is no wonder there is such a racial divide between whites and blacks since all the white people who enjoy their natural rights will themselves grant those rights to black people even though blacks, or any one for that matter, all ready possessed those rights to begin with. Even if the 14th Amendment was written to correct the flaw of the three fifths compromise in the Constitution, and certainly the remaining sections were necessary to deal with the aftermath of the 13th Amendment, it was the abolition of slavery that corrected the flaw of the three fifths nonsense.

The first section is not necessary because any person, whether born or naturalized in the United States or born or naturalized somewhere else and still residing there, is in possession of natural rights. There are governments across the world that do not recognize this fact, but if it is true, if natural rights is part of universal law then if it be true for Americans it is true for everyone else, regardless of what petty tyrants might say. The idea that slaves had no rights because they were only three fifths of a person became legally irrelevant after the abolition of slavery. The persons relegated to three fifth person hood in the Constitution are not clearly defined and it was understood to mean the slaves owned by Americans. After the 13th amendment there were no more slaves, certainly not in a legal sense and because of this there are no more "other persons" that can dismissed as not owning certain rights. Every person, regardless of "other persons" is now acknowledged to have certain rights. This was accomplished by the 13th Amendment and not the 14th Amendment. In fact, the 14th amendment seeks to expand the federal governments jurisdiction by granting people rights they all ready have. How does this affect us?

What are the national and state governments? Where do these governments find their authority? Before the 14th amendment they found their power in the people and were granted limited authority by the people. After the 14th Amendment who is granting who power and authority? Where does the federal and states power come from today? If we are a government of the people, for the people and by the people then how does a government get away with granting us rights we all ready have? Is there a connection between the 14th Amendment and the unprecedented power the three branches of government granted limited power have gained? Do we the people still hold the inherent political power or have we abdicated our authority to a bureaucracy?

Answer 2

The 14th amendment states that all persons born in the United States were Citizens. It also states that no Citzen will be denied equal protection of the law