Saturday, December 5, 2009
The 14th Amendment
0 comments"Section 1. 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 deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
Let's take this section by section:
Section 1: This section grants automatic U.S. citizenship to those born or naturalized within one of the United States or within a territory of its jurisdiction, and also grants automatic State citizenship to those born or naturalized in a United State. This section also prohibits the states from creating any laws that would infringe on the rights guaranteed at the federal level, the rights of life, liberty, or property without "due process of law," and requires all States to grant all citizens of the United States "equal protection of the laws."
Section 2: This section describes that the number of representatives shall be proportional to the whole number of citizens of the state, but Indians who do not pay taxes are excluded from that count. And in any event that the right to vote is denied to a number of male inhabitants of that state, then the number of representatives shall be reduced by that number.
Section 3: This section states that any Senator, Representative, or government official guilty of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or of giving aid to the enemies of the United States, shall no longer hold office. However, Congress can vote to repeal this disability by a two-thirds vote.
Section 4: This section says that the validity of the national debt of the United States, which must be authorized by law to be recognized as a deficit, that includes debts for payment for aid of insurrection of rebellion against the United States, shall not be questioned. As such, no state shall be obligated to pay a debt to another state for aid against rebellion against the United States.
Section 5: This section authorizes Congress with the executive power of enforcement of this amendment with appropriate legislation.
________________________________________________
I chose this article because it deals directly with the Fourteenth Amendment, and its author asserts that this amendment has created two different categories of citizens in the U.S.
______________________________________________Section 5: This section authorizes Congress with the executive power of enforcement of this amendment with appropriate legislation.
________________________________________________
The Fourteenth Amendment Created Two Citizens:
A Concise Explanation
©2009 Dan Goodman
The Fourteenth Amendment created two citizens under the Constitution of the United States (of America).
Before the Fourteenth Amendment, citizenship of a State and citizenship of the United States were considered one in the same. [Footnote 1] However, in the Slaughterhouse Cases, the Supreme Court decided that because of the Fourteenth Amendment, citizenship of a State was to be separate and distinct from citizenship of the United States.
This was done so Dred Scott would not apply. In that case, citizenship of a State and citizenship of the United States were considered to be one in the same.
The Fourteenth Amendment created citizenship of the United States. As stated above, this citizenship was separate and distinct from citizenship of a State. If, one, being a citizen of the United States, wanted to become a citizen of a State, then according to the Fourteenth Amendment, all one had to do was reside in a State. In this case, one would be a citizen of the United States AND a citizen of a State. [Footnote 2] He or she, would then have privileges and immunities of a citizen of the United States plus privileges and immunities of a citizen of a State.
Before the Fourteenth Amendment, citizenship of a State and citizenship of the United States were considered one in the same. One who was a citizen of a State (as well as a citizen of the United States [Footnote 3]), was entitled; under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States (of America), to “all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.”
The Fourteenth Amendment; however, according to the Supreme Court in the Slaughterhouse Cases, changed citizenship under the Constitution. Citizenship of a State was now to be considered as separate and distinct from citizenship of the United States. A citizen of a State was to be considered as separate and distinct from a citizen of the United States. [Footnote 4]
Because of this a citizen of a State, and not a citizen of the United States, was entitled; under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States (of America), to “all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.” [Footnote 5]
Before the Fourteenth Amendment, citizenship of a State and citizenship of the United States were considered one in the same. A citizen of a State was recognized at Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution. However, after the Fourteenth Amendment, there were now two state citizens, one under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, and one under Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment. [Footnote 6]
In the Slaughterhouse Cases, the Supreme Court decided that the Fourteenth Amendment created a second citizenship, citizenship of the several States.” [Footnote 7] This was later reaffirmed in Cole v. Cunningham:
“The intention of section 2, Article IV (of the Constitution), was to confer on the citizens of the several States a general citizenship.” Cole v. Cunningham: 133 U.S. 107, at 113 thru114 (1890).
Now there are two state citizens, a citizen of the United States and a citizen of the several States. One is under the Fourteenth Amendment the other under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution.
So, the Fourteenth Amendment created two citizens under the Constitution of the United States (of America):
"Consequently, one who is created a citizen of the United States, is certainly not made a citizen of any particular State. It follows, that as it is only the citizens of the State who are entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States, . . . , then a distinction both in name and privileges is made to exist between citizens of the United States, ex vi termini, and citizens of the respective (several) States." Ex parte Frank Knowles: 5 Cal. 300, at page 304 (1855). [Before the Fourteenth Amendment]
I chose this article because it deals directly with the Fourteenth Amendment, and its author asserts that this amendment has created two different categories of citizens in the U.S.
I chose this video because it explores the Fourteenth Amendment on the similar subject that the previous article discusses.
0 comments: to “ The 14th Amendment ”
Post a Comment