Final answer:
Southern state legislators most strongly objected to the provision of the 14th Amendment granting citizenship to all born or naturalized in the U.S., which upended the established racial hierarchy by confirming legal personhood and possible political power to former slaves.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most Objected Component of the 14th Amendment by Southern Legislators
The southern state legislators most likely objected to all aspects of the 14th Amendment, but particularly C) Citizenship for all born or naturalized in the U.S.. This provision overturned the Dred Scott decision and ensured that anyone born on U.S. soil was an American citizen, regardless of race or previous conditions of servitude. This was seen as a direct affront to the social and political order of the South post-Civil War, which had been based on the existence of slavery and the denial of citizenship to African Americans.
The importance of citizenship is underscored by its role in granting full legal personhood, which carried with it implications for political power and social status. The southern states were resistant to any changes that would upset the racial hierarchy that existed prior to the Civil War.
In addition to civil rights for African Americans, the amendment's clauses requiring equal protection under the law, due process, and respect for privileges and immunities of citizens would undermine the ability of southern states to enforce laws that discriminated based on race, which was another point of contention for those legislators.