As part of the National Constitution Center’s on-going Interactive Constitution project, leading constitutional experts interact with each other to explore the Constitution’s history and what it means today.
In this special look at the ground-breaking 14th Amendment, three sets of experts find common ground on the amendment's Equal Protection, Due Process and Enforcement Clauses and also explore Matters of Debate on each subject.
Nathan S. Chapman and Kenji Yoshino examine the Due Process Clause. "The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is the source of an array of constitutional rights, including many of our most cherished—and most controversial," they write in an essay written together. Click here for the full essay and separate Matters of Debate essays from these scholars.
Brian Fitzpatrick and Theodore M. Shaw discuss one of the Constitution's best-known clauses, the Equal Protection Clause. "Ratified as it was after the Civil War in 1868, there is little doubt what the Equal Protection Clause was intended to do: stop states from discriminating against blacks. But the text of the Clause is worded very broadly and it has come a long way from its original purpose," they write. Click here for the full essay and separate Matters of Debate essays from these scholars.
And Erwin Chemerinsky and Earl M. Maltz jointly look at the Enforcement Clause. "Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment vests Congress with the authority to adopt 'appropriate' legislation to enforce the other parts of the Amendment—most notably, the provisions of Section One," they write. "By adding to the authority of Congress, Section Five changed the balance of power between the state and federal governments that is the hallmark of the federal system." Click here for the full essay and separate Matters of Debate essays from these scholars.
These experts were selected with the guidance of leaders of two prominent constitutional law organizations—The American Constitution Society and The Federalist Society. This project is sponsored by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
