The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the evolution of its influence as a result of judicial interpretation

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the evolution of its influence as a result of judicial interpretation Abstract The thesis analyzes the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the changes in its understanding resulting from its interpretation by the Supreme Court of the United States throughout the years since the ratification of the Amendment. The thesis discusses every section of the Fourteenth Amendment, but the highest attention is dedicated to its most significant first section and the clauses contained in it; the citizenship clause, the privileges or immunities clause, the due process clause and the equal protection clause. The debates of the 39th Congress are discussed as well, as they offer an insight to the original understanding of the terms used in the text of the Amendment and allow to understand the context of its origin. The evolution of the Amendment's influence is then analyzed through a number of historical eras that reflect the ever-changing composition of the Court and the decisions stemming from it. The thesis tries to outline the most likely original meaning of the Amendment's clauses and compare it to their interpretation by the Supreme Court which makes it possible to observe the Amendment's gradually growing influence on american..