what does the 14th amendment say about citizenship

The 14th Amendment says that anyone born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction is a citizen of both the United States and the state where they live. This is what’s often called the “Citizenship Clause,” and it is the constitutional basis for birthright citizenship in the U.S.

Core citizenship rule

• The key sentence is: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

• This overruled the pre–Civil War Dred Scott decision, which had said that people of African descent could not be U.S. citizens.

What “born or naturalized” means

• “Born in the United States” covers almost everyone born on U.S. soil, with narrow exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats.

• “Naturalized” refers to immigrants who complete the legal process for citizenship under federal naturalization laws.

“Subject to the jurisdiction thereof”

• This phrase means the person is generally subject to U.S. law and authority, which is why children of foreign diplomats are excluded—they are under diplomatic immunity, not normal U.S. jurisdiction.

• Courts have interpreted this language to include children born in the U.S. even if their parents are not citizens, forming the basis of modern birthright citizenship.

Connection to civil rights

• The Citizenship Clause appears in Section 1 of the 14th Amendment alongside guarantees of due process and equal protection, which together protect civil and legal rights after the Civil War.

• By constitutionally defining national citizenship, the amendment prevented states from denying citizenship status to formerly enslaved people and their descendants.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.