The idea of defining freedom and citizenship has been a subject of conflict in the history of the United States. Through the American history, there have been major issues that debates about freedom and citizenship that have revolved in the past. Historical events like the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 pointed the meaning of freedom, the social conditions that make freedom possible and the boundaries of freedom in regards who should enjoy it (Barnett and Bernick, 2021). Although the Constitutional Convection depicted liberty among human’s inalienable rights while the Constitution announced its purpose to secure liberty’s blessings, the Constitution failed to define citizenship. The Reconstruction era that brought several changes in debating citizenship and freedom to the enslaved, and the Fourteenth Amendment witnessed diverse opinions in describing its clauses to provide equality among the diverse American populations. The Fourteenth Amendment is a historically significant event that has shaped and defined freedom and citizenship to become a fundamental part in the course of the American history.
The Fourteenth Amendment was one the Reconstruction amendment that defined citizenship and freedom when America struggled to rebuild the country following the end of the Civil War. The war left extensive damages with far reaching consequences that brought freedom and citizenship complexity to African Americans. President Abraham Lincoln proposed a plan to rebuild the country under Reconstruction era (Wurman, 2020). The Reconstruction era planned to answer several questions like who was an American, the rights they should enjoy, the rights that some Americans would enjoy, how to redefine citizenship and if former enslaved blacks would become American citizens (Wurman, 2020). As white Americas held the opinion that blacks should not participate in Reconstruction debates, the blacks held contrary opinions. The black citizenship relied on the status of the Confederate states and in 1868, the Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment that guaranteed equal civil and legal rights to black citizens. The amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. Additionally, the amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the country.
The Fourteenth Amendment was important because it established the definition of rights and citizenship in the United States. The definition of freedom, liberty and citizenship were debatable and contested in the early years of independence as all citizens did not receive equal civil rights. At the end of Civil War in 1865, president Lincoln had to imagine how the country would define freedom and citizenship when slavery ended (Wurman, 2020). Following Lincoln assassination, president Andrew Jackson policies and laws restored white supremacy by going against Lincoln’s ideologies. However, the issue of black people provoked equally complex competing views as white southerners wanted to limit legal rights of the blacks, but the northern states prevented their attempts to limit their freedom. Reconstruction era incorporated several amendments such as the Fourteenth Amendment that defined an American as any person born or naturalized in the country regardless of skin color. Therefore, the Fourteenth Amendment established citizenship rights and equal protection for the first time, laying the foundation on how freedom and citizenship has become integral journey in the American history.
The Fourteenth Amendment one of the most relevant amendments in the lives of all Americans today because it faced numerous legal cases to threaten its existence. The historical development of the Fourteenth amendment became the basis for many landmarks Supreme Court decisions over the years in the course of American history. The Plessy v. Ferguson was an example of a landmark Supreme Court decision that challenged the Fourteenth Amendment mandate (Hannah-Jones, 2019). The 1896 case infringed African American rights by favoring racial segregation through equal but separate doctrine that established the constitutionality of racial segregation (Hannah-Jones, 2019). Although the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed legal citizenship and freedom to every American, the legal Supreme Court decisions to weaken its provisions but it has played a big role in moving the society today. As the constitutionality of racial segregation under the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling existed for several years, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling overturned racial segregation. The Brown v. Board of Education drew its decision from the Fourteenth Amendment’s clause that guarantees equal protection right to end racial segregation in public schools (Hannah-Jones, 2019). The ruling was one of the court decisions that relied on the Fourteenth Amendment clause to define an American through the lens of freedom and citizenship. Therefore, the basis of many constitutional laws rested on the Fourteenth Amendment clauses to ensure it remain an integral part of American history in defining some of the fundamental rights that Americans enjoy today.
Many people viewed the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment as the rebirth of democracy and a key component to strengthen the foundation of America. Before 1868, white supremacy limited democratic power by enhancing inconsistency to define freedom and citizenship of minority populations. The definition of citizenship varied greatly, and the Constitution failed to define citizenship from 1787 to 1868. In 1857, the Dred Scott case held that African American, whether freed or slaved, were nit American citizens (Hannah-Jones, 2019). The Fourteenth Amendment overruled Dred Scott ruling to define citizenship for the first time in history in 1868. As the Fourteenth Amendment came at a pivotal time in American history to reshape the core values concerning citizenship and equality, its enactment and ratification changed the American identity. Progress towards citizenship and freedom reveals how choices of people makes history and how democracy changed after 1868 by rewarding the ultimate freedom and citizenship to former enslaved people. The rebirth of democracy through the Fourteenth Amendment was essential to develop an understanding of the past history towards defining an American citizen.
In conclusion, the United States’ definition of freedom and citizenship was an epitome of conflict in the course of the country’s history. There have been significant historical events like the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 that defined citizenship for the first time since the Declaration of Independence. The amendment transformed the nation extensively and today, it is by far the most cited amendment in litigation. The debate about defining freedom and citizenship has been crucial in the path of American history through the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal because it mandated that all people born and naturalized in the country to be granted citizenship. The provision extended liberties and freedom to African Americans who were formerly enslaved people to exercise equal rights like the majority whites. The historical context of the citizenship clause overturned many infamous rulings in the Supreme Court history to become an integral course in American history.
References
Barnett, R. E., & Bernick, E. D. (2021). The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit. Harvard University Press.
Hannah-Jones, N. (2019). America wasn’t a democracy, until Black Americans made it one. The New York Times Magazine, 14.
Wurman, I. (2020). The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment. Cambridge University Press.
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