During Andrew Johnson's presidency, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed. The 14th Amendment, known as one of the three, “Reconstruction,” amendments, along with the 13th Amendment and 15th Amendment, was an amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified on July 9th, 1868 to ensure the Civil Rights Act of 1866 remained valid. In other words, its purpose was to protect ALL citizens, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, and their natural rights, so long as they were American Citizens. It contains five different clauses; the following (abridged):
- State and federal citizenship for all persons regardless of race both born or naturalized in the United States is to be upheld and maintained.
- No state is allowed to abridge the "privileges and immunities" of citizens. The political representation of said states is based on its population, population which is composed of each citizen's counting as a whole.
- No person is allowed to be deprived of life, liberty,or property without "due process of law." No citizen admitted into the position of a government official has may commit an offense to the law.
- Public debt of states is not to be questioned. States in the union are not held responsible for the paying of debts gained through rebellion against the United States. Any such claims are illegal and void.