Citizenship as The Tenet of Freedom

One of the most contested questions that came out of Reconstruction was, “Who is a rightful citizen of the United States, and what rights should that citizen be entitled to enjoy?” Before the Civil War, whites were able to separate themselves from the institution of slavery by their citizenship, and the lack thereof for blacks. The Fourteenth Amendment of 1868, for the first time in American History, resolved pre-Civil War disagreements over citizenship and established a definition of individual equality that all citizens are entitled to. It states, “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. (Foner, A-10, 2012)” The Fourteenth Amendment wrote into the Constitution that equality before the law, regardless of race, is a fundamental right of American citizens. Prior to the Civil War, African Americans could not escape bondage and become free. The Fourteenth Amendment acknowledged for the first time, the importance of citizenship in the concept of freedom. Once all people became entitled to that right, which is explicitly stated in the constitution, blacks took a step towards a shared equality with other citizens of the nation (Patrick, 1967.)

Historians Eric Foner & Linda Kerber on birthright citizenship

The Fourteenth Amendment was also not a principle that had its roots in the Constitution. Rather, it was a very specific part of the Reconstruction process and fundamentally rewrote American liberty. Unlike any of the other amendments passed before it, the Fourteenth Amendment created a national standard of citizenship that dealt with all persons and not just whites who could be citizens. In the Dred Scott Decision of 1847 no black person, whether they were free or enslaved, could a become citizen. Whereas citizenship was just for white people before the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment created a new universal guideline for citizenship (Foner, 2012.)

In the ruling of the Dred Scott decision of 1847, all blacks were denied citizenship. This changed with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, which opened the door to a newfound freedom for blacks that eventually led to more personal liberties (Foner, 2012.)

1. Patrick, Rembert W. "Congressional Reconstruction." The Reconstruction of the Nation. New York: Oxford UP, 1967. 99-106. Print.
2. Foner, Eric. "Appendix, A-10." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. A-10. Print.
3. Foner, Eric. "A House Divided." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 519-20. Print.
4. "Eric Foner & Linda Kerber on Birthright Citizenship at OAH in Milwaukee." YouTube. YouTube, 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
5. "Primary Documents in American History." Dred Scott v. Sandford: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.