The Fourteenth Amendment was critically important for civil liberties because it ________.

Question

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The Fourteenth Amendment helped start the process of selective incorporation of the Bill of Rights, meaning that the protections afforded by the Bill of Rights were gradually extended to apply to state governments as well as the federal government. This significantly expanded protections for individual civil liberties. The amendment did not directly grant freed slaves the right to vote, although it did include language intended to guarantee equal protection under the law. The Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery, not the Fourteenth. The Fourteenth Amendment did not allow states to continue to enact black codes.

The Fourteenth Amendment Was Critically Important for Civil Liberties Because