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14th Amendment



  • New Evidence: Rehnquist Pretty Much OK with Plessy v. Ferguson

    by Richard Hasen and Dahlia Lithwick

    A 1952 memo that Rehnquist wrote defending "separate but equal" was raised during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings and dismissed as work-for-hire. It is now clear that he supported the narrow interpretation of the 14th Amendment that the current court majority hopes to use to undermine civil rights. 


  • Why Everyone Born in the US is a Citizen, and Why it Matters

    by Amanda Frost

    In upholding birthright citizenship in the case of US v. Wong Kim Ark, the court invoked English common law, rather than claims to citizenship rights and freedom by escaped slaves, as the foundation of the 14th Amendment's definition of citizenship. This makes the principle vulnerable when it should be unassailable. 



  • The 14th Amendment Should Put a Stop to Debt Ceiling Hostage Taking

    by Eric Foner

    The provisions of the Reconstruction Amendments dealing with the national debt were tied to the nation's short-lived commitment to interracial democracy in the South; today they offer the Biden administration a possible tool to use if Congress pushes to the brink of default. 



  • SCOTUS Affirmative Action Cases Hinge on History of Brown and the 14th Amendment

    by Linda Greenhouse

    Neither Brown nor the 14th Amendment were driven by a belief in a "colorblind" Constitution; instead, they were rooted in the historically specific context of racial oppression. The plaintiffs in two cases before the court want to obscure that history, says veteran court reporter Linda Greenhouse.



  • Impeachment May Not Work. Here’s the Next Best Way to Dump Trump

    by Eric Foner

    The 14th Amendment empowers Congress to bar persons involved in insurrection against the United States from holding office. This can't remove Trump, but it can stop him (and anyone found to have plotted the Capitol rioting) from returning to office. 



  • Birtherism 2.0

    by Matthew Yglesias

    Right-wing challenges to Kamala Harris's eligibility for the presidency depend on a legal argument that American-born children of immigrants are a lesser category of citizen. There is no basis under the Constitution for this. 


  • Of Course Kamala Harris is a Citizen

    by Derek Litvak

    John Eastman's claims that Kamala Harris is not a natural-born U.S. citizen fly in the face of 14th Amendment jurisprudence and Eastman's own prior defenses of Ted Cruz's eligibility for the presidency. 


  • William Barr Needs a History Lesson

    by Derek Litvak

    When conservatives claim birthright citizenship is not a part of the Constitution, they are ignoring America’s long history of slavery, discrimination, and segregation. 



  • First as Farce, Then as Tragedy

    by Manisha Sinha

    Donald Trump wants to destroy the 14th Amendment's guarantee of birthright citizenship. But before he sought to eliminate it outright, his elite predecessors mangled, misread, and misused the amendment in the service of capital.