On this day in 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, with South Carolina providing the final approval (somewhat under duress – the Reconstruction Acts required the Confederate states to ratify the amendment before they would be re-admitted to the United States).
The Amendment is one of the most consequential amendments. It addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law at all levels of government.
The amendment’s first section includes the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause. The Citizenship Clause broadly defines citizenship, superseding the Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which held that Americans descended from African slaves could not become American citizens. The Privileges or Immunities Clause was interpreted in the Slaughter-House Cases (1873) as preventing states from impeding federal rights, such as the freedom of movement. The Due Process Clause builds on the Fifth Amendment to prohibit all levels of government from depriving people of life, liberty, or property without substantive and procedural due process. Additionally, the Due Process Clause supports the incorporation doctrine, by which portions of the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states. The Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people, including non-citizens, within its jurisdiction.
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“Full Self-Driving”…
SIGNS and SIGNS…
Today is the birthday, in 1945, of American singer Dolores “Dee Dee” Kenniebrew, from the girl group the Crystals. She sang lead vocalist on both the Crystals’ 1963 Phil Spector produced hits ‘Then He Kissed Me’ and ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’. In 1960, at age 15, she was invited to join the girl group and was the only member who stayed in the group from their formation to their disbanding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-qqi7-Q19k
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