The 14th Amendment wrote the Declaration of Independence's promise of freedom and equality into the Constitution. Ratified after the Civil War, this amendment transformed the Constitution forever and is at the core of a period that many scholars refer to as our nation’s “Second Founding.” Even so, the 14th Amendment remains the focus of many of today’s most important constitutional debates (and Supreme Court cases). In many ways, the history of the modern Supreme Court is largely a history of modern-day battles over the 14th Amendment's meaning. So many of the constitutional cases that Americans care about today turn on the 14th Amendment.
Module 14: The 14th Amendment: Battles for Freedom and Equality
In this Fun Friday Session, Christopher R. Riano, president of the Center for Civic Education, joins National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation on the 14th Amendment and the battle over its meaning from Reconstruction to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on marriage equality in Obergefell.
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment, the Center's 2018 calendar explores its history and legacy.
In this clip from FOURTEEN, the performance opens with the words of the Declaration of Independence, after which a performer reads an open letter from Douglass to his former slaveholder.
In this clip from FOURTEEN performers use the words of the 39th Congress as they debate the proposed 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
In this clip from FOURTEEN, a performer embodying President Lincoln reads an excerpt of the Emancipation Proclamation. Another performer reads an 1864 letter written by Annie Davis, an enslaved woman who, upon hearing of the proclamation, seeks President Lincoln’s guidance on if she can freely travel to visit her family.
Explore key historical documents that inspired the Framers of the Constitution and each amendment during the drafting process, the early drafts and major proposals behind each provision, and discover how the drafters deliberated, agreed and disagreed, on the path to compromise and the final text.
Explore our new 15-unit core curriculum with educational videos, primary texts, and more.
Search and browse videos, podcasts, and blog posts on constitutional topics.
Discover primary texts and historical documents that span American history and have shaped the American constitutional tradition.