What does the Fourteenth Amendment establish?

The Fourteenth Amendment establishes that all persons within a state's jurisdiction must receive equal protection of the laws, meaning state governments cannot single out groups for unfair treatment. Ratified on July 9, 1868, the Equal Protection Clause states that no State shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The clause was written for the recently emancipated and free people of African descent, but its plain language extends to all persons, citizen and noncitizen alike.

The Supreme Court evaluates equal protection claims using three tiers of scrutiny. Strict scrutiny applies to classifications based on race, national origin, or religion, requiring the government to show a compelling interest pursued through narrowly tailored means. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) used strict scrutiny to overturn school segregation, declaring separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Loving v. Virginia (1967) struck down anti-miscegenation laws on the same basis.

Intermediate scrutiny applies to sex and illegitimacy classifications under Craig v. Boren (1976) and United States v. Virginia (1996), which struck down the male-only admissions policy at the Virginia Military Institute. Rational basis review applies to most other classifications, requiring only a legitimate government interest pursued through rationally related means, and most economic and social welfare laws survive this test.

The clause has been used to address many forms of discrimination. Reed v. Reed (1971) was the first case applying it to strike down sex-based classifications. Frontiero v. Richardson (1973) addressed sex-based military benefits. Plyler v. Doe (1982) struck down a Texas law denying public schooling to children of undocumented immigrants. Romer v. Evans (1996) struck down a Colorado provision targeting gay rights. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) used the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses together to require states to license and recognize same-sex marriages.

The clause also addresses voting rights through one person, one vote rulings such as Reynolds v. Sims (1964) requiring roughly equal legislative districts, and through Bush v. Gore (2000) addressing vote-counting standards. The Fourteenth Amendment originally bound only state and local governments, but Bolling v. Sharpe (1954) read an equivalent equal protection requirement into the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause governing federal action, a doctrine known as reverse incorporation.

Section 5 of the amendment empowers Congress to enforce equal protection through legislation, the constitutional foundation for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Naturalization candidates should understand equal protection as the guarantee that government must apply its laws fairly to all people.