What was the focus of Amendment XIV? What was it's impact on society?

Question

What is its visibility/current impact on you?

Answer 1

The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution is one of the post-Civil War amendments (also known as the Reconstruction Amendments), first intended to secure rights for former slaves. It includes the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, among others. It was proposed on June 13, 1866, and was ratified on July 9, 1868.

The amendment provides a broad definition of United States citizenship, superseding the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford that had excluded slaves imported from Africa and their descendants. The amendment requires states to provide equal protection under the law to all persons within their jurisdictions and was used in the mid-20th century to dismantle racial segregation in the United States, as in Brown v. Board of Education. Its Due Process Clause has been the basis of much important and controversial case law regarding privacy rights, abortion (see Roe v. Wade), and other issues.

The other two post-Civil War amendments are the Thirteenth Amendment (banning slavery) and the Fifteenth Amendment (banning race-based voting qualifications). According to Supreme Court Justice Noah Swayne, "Fairly construed, these amendments may be said to rise to the dignity of a new Magna Carta."