Today in History

What went down and why you should care.

jul 28 Learn More 14th Amendment Ratified


The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on this day in 1868. It's kind of the Swiss army knife of citizenship amendments: it defines what it means to be an American citizen. It basically states that if you're born in America—boom!—you're an American. It guarantees equal protection of the law to all citizens, which was super important to the African American community coming on the heels of the Civil War but extended to everyone. It also promises everybody due process, which is a fancy way of saying fairness. Told you it was useful.

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