Thursday, August 11, 2011

Why is Section 1 of the 14th Amendment worded so broadly...?

The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868. There was no such thing as an illegal immigrant, since the US at the time had no immigration laws. The Amendment was focused specifically to guarantee rights to the children of freed slaves. Citizenship was still denied to some Native Americans after ratification, because it was felt they hadn't done what was necessary to be considered American citizens.

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