Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution - Proposal and Ratification

Proposal and Ratification

The 39th United States Congress proposed the Fourteenth Amendment on June 13, 1866.

Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment was bitterly contested: all the Southern state legislatures, with the exception of Tennessee, refused to ratify the amendment. This refusal led to the passage of the Reconstruction Acts. Ignoring the existing state governments, military government was imposed until new civil governments were established and the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified.

By July 9, 1868, three-fourths of the states (28 of 37) ratified the amendment:

  1. Connecticut (June 25, 1866)
  2. New Hampshire (July 6, 1866)
  3. Tennessee (July 19, 1866)
  4. New Jersey (September 11, 1866)*
  5. Oregon (September 19, 1866)
  6. Vermont (October 30, 1866)
  7. Ohio (January 4, 1867)*
  8. New York (January 10, 1867)
  9. Kansas (January 11, 1867)
  10. Illinois (January 15, 1867)
  11. West Virginia (January 16, 1867)
  12. Michigan (January 16, 1867)
  13. Minnesota (January 16, 1867)
  14. Maine (January 19, 1867)
  15. Nevada (January 22, 1867)
  16. Indiana (January 23, 1867)
  17. Missouri (January 25, 1867)
  18. Rhode Island (February 7, 1867)
  19. Wisconsin (February 7, 1867)
  20. Pennsylvania (February 12, 1867)
  21. Massachusetts (March 20, 1867)
  22. Nebraska (June 15, 1867)
  23. Iowa (March 16, 1868)
  24. Arkansas (April 6, 1868, after having rejected it on December 17, 1866)
  25. Florida (June 9, 1868, after having rejected it on December 6, 1866)
  26. North Carolina (July 4, 1868, after having rejected it on December 14, 1866)
  27. Louisiana (July 9, 1868, after having rejected it on February 6, 1867)
  28. South Carolina (July 9, 1868, after having rejected it on December 20, 1866)

*Ohio passed a resolution that purported to withdraw its ratification on January 15, 1868. The New Jersey legislature also tried to rescind its ratification on February 20, 1868, citing procedural problems with the amendment's congressional passage, including that specific states were unlawfully denied representation in the House and the Senate at the time. The New Jersey governor had vetoed his state's withdrawal on March 5, and the legislature overrode the veto on March 24.

On July 20, 1868, Secretary of State William H. Seward certified that the amendment had become part of the Constitution if the rescissions were ineffective, and presuming also that the later ratifications by states whose governments had been reconstituted superseded the initial rejection of the prior state legislatures.

The Congress responded on the following day, declaring that the amendment was part of the Constitution and ordering Seward to promulgate the amendment.

Meanwhile, two additional states had ratified the amendment:

  1. Alabama (July 13, 1868, the date the ratification was "approved" by the governor)
  2. Georgia (July 21, 1868, after having rejected it on November 9, 1866)

Thus, on July 28, Seward was able to certify unconditionally that the amendment was part of the Constitution without having to endorse the Congress's assertion that the withdrawals were ineffective.

There were additional ratifications and rescissions; by 2003, the amendment had been ratified by all of the 37 states that were in the Union in 1868:

  1. Virginia (October 8, 1869, after having rejected it on January 9, 1867)
  2. Mississippi (January 17, 1870, after having rejected it on January 31, 1868)
  3. Texas (February 18, 1870, after having rejected it on October 27, 1866)
  4. Delaware (February 12, 1901, after having rejected it on February 7, 1867)
  5. Maryland (April 4, 1959, after having rejected it on March 23, 1867)
  6. California (March 18, 1959)
  7. Oregon (1973, after withdrawing it on October 15, 1868)
  8. Kentucky (May 6, 1976, after having rejected it on January 8, 1867)
  9. New Jersey (2003, after having rescinded on February 20, 1868)
  10. Ohio (2003, after having rescinded on January 15, 1868)

Read more about this topic:  Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution