Was the 14th amendment meant for the slaves?

Answer 1

The 14th amendment basically guaranteed that African Americans would be treated as "citizens." This was during reconstruction after Lincoln died because republican senate had a vengeance toward the South and wanted to make the South freed the slaves in reality, not just on paper. However, the 14th amendment does not guarantee African Americans the right to vote, that is the 15th amendment. The 15th amendment was passed in order to ensure that Southern states would not be able to create their own legislation that would prohibit African Americans from voting. Remember, this still does not include women who do not get the right to vote until 1919 with the passage of the 19th amendment.

Answer 2

Yes, although some of the discussions included other non-citizen immigrants (domestic and international), so the amendment was written using very open ended words.