Which amendment defines citizenship and guarantees due process for all persons born or naturalized in the United States?

Which amendment defines citizenship and guarantees due process for all persons born or naturalized in the United States?

• A. 13th Amendment
• B. 14th Amendment
• C. 15th Amendment
• D. 19th Amendment

Answer: (B)

The Fourteenth Amendment establishes who is a citizen and protects that citizenship with due process. It states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens, which grants birthright citizenship, and it bars states from depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. It also prohibits states from denying equal protection of the laws to any person within their jurisdiction, ensuring fair treatment for all. This combination—defining citizenship at birth or naturalization and guaranteeing due process—is what the amendment provides. The other amendments focus on ending slavery (thirteen), protecting voting rights for Black men (fifteenth), or extending suffrage to women (nineteenth), not on defining citizenship or guaranteeing due process.

The Fourteenth Amendment establishes who is a citizen and protects that citizenship with due process. It states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens, which grants birthright citizenship, and it bars states from depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. It also prohibits states from denying equal protection of the laws to any person within their jurisdiction, ensuring fair treatment for all. This combination—defining citizenship at birth or naturalization and guaranteeing due process—is what the amendment provides. The other amendments focus on ending slavery (thirteen), protecting voting rights for Black men (fifteenth), or extending suffrage to women (nineteenth), not on defining citizenship or guaranteeing due process.