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The first section defines who is a citizen of the United States and establishes that no state can enact laws that abridge certain rights of its citizens or persons within the jurisdiction of the United States. This section contains the due process and equal protection clauses and has had a notable impact on federal, state and local law in the United States, including the selective prosecution defense.
Prior to the adoption of this amendment, the United States Bill of Rights acted only as a restraint on federal, not state, governments. Until its passage, a state's control over its citizens was legally restrained only by that state's constitution and laws. Many states modeled their constitution and laws after the federal government of the United States, but state constitutions did not necessarily entail provisions like the Bill of Rights.
With the adoption of this amendment and this section in particular, southern states were legally obligated to recognize certain rights of freed slaves. In response, many states drew up Jim Crow and similar laws to perpetuate racial discrimination in the south. The expansion of "fundamental rights" under the Due Process clause was not anticipated by its sponsors. Yet under this clause the United States Supreme Court has recognized such rights as the right to abortion, the right to contraceptives, the right to medical treatment, and the right to marryMarriage is a relationship that plays a key role in the definition of many families. Precise definitions vary historically and between and within cultures, but it has been an important concept as a socially sanctioned bond between people who (usually) are.
It is also to be said that corporate lawyers used the fourteen amendment to push their definition of a " legal person", which entitles corporations the same rights as citizens.
The second section establishes rules for the apportioning of representatives in CongressThe United States Congress is the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The structure and responsibilities of Congress are defined in Article One of the United States Constitution. The United States Congress is bicameral, meaning tha to states, essentially making the proportion of that state's representation equal to that state's proportion of the nation's population excluding males under the age of 21, the disenfranchised, and Indians who do not pay taxes.
The third section prevents the election of any person to the Congress or Electoral College who has engaged in insurrection, rebellionA rebellion is an armed resistance to an established government. Those who participate in rebellions are rebels. Other words for a rebellion include: revolt uprising insurrection and insurgency''. Some of these words, especially rebellion and revolt often, or treasonIn law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to one's nation. A person who reneges on an oath of loyalty or a pledge of allegiance, and in some way willfully cooperates with an enemy, is considered to be a traitor . Oran's Dictionary of the Law ( 1983) defi. A two-thirds vote by Congress can override this limitation, however.