Which constitutional amendment established birthright citizenship in the United States?

The Fourteenth Amendment established constitutional birthright citizenship in the United States. Ratified in 1868, it declared that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and of the state where they reside.

Congress proposed the amendment during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Its Citizenship Clause overturned the Supreme Court’s infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision, which had denied national citizenship to Black people. The amendment also included a Due Process Clause and an Equal Protection Clause.

The amendment was part of the Reconstruction Amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, while the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited denying the vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Together, these amendments reshaped the constitutional order after slavery.

The Citizenship Clause has remained central to debates about immigration, children of foreign nationals, and the meaning of national membership. Its wording and interpretation have also influenced major Supreme Court decisions, including United States v. Wong Kim Ark in 1898.