Amendment XIV, Section 1

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. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This Section establishes the fact that anyone born on United States soil or who is naturalized is a U.S. citizen and a citizen of his or her State. The three clauses that follow this have become known as the Privileges and Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. In effect, they have been interpreted as making the laws that bind the National Government also hold true for the State Governments. This is known as incorporation and was a key ingredient in helping slaves attain the same rights as white people. Most of the Bill of Rights, excepting Amendments II, III, and parts of V, has been incorporated, that is, it has been made to apply to both the Federal Government and the States.

One interesting item to note is the wording of the first sentence. According to a literal interpretation of it, children of illegal immigrants who are born on U.S. soil are citizens of the United States. Some people argue that this was not meant to be and that these children have no right to be citizens if their parents immigrated to this country illegally. This is an extremely current issue under heavy debate today. (Ratified July 1868.)