The Entire Fourteenth Amendment

Abstract

Discussions of the legislative history of the Fourteenth Amendment have almost uniformly focused on the background of section one. However, the recent debate about the proper interpretation of section three has reminded us that section one was in fact only one part of a multi-faceted measure that was designed to outline the conditions under which the states that had been part of the Confederacy would be allowed to regain their status as equal members of the United States. This article is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of the legislative history of the entire Fourteenth Amendment, including both section one and section three, as well as sections two and four.

Keywords: constitutional law, fourteenth amendment