Final answer:
The Fourteenth Amendment includes three important provisions: the Citizenship Clause defining national and state citizenship, the Due Process Clause extending due process to the states, and the Equal Protection Clause mandating equal legal protection for all citizens.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution includes several important provisions that protect the rights of American citizens. Three key provisions are:
- The Citizenship Clause, which defines citizenship as being anyone 'born or naturalized in the United States', overturning the Dred Scott decision and ensuring that all persons born or naturalized in the country are citizens of the United States and the state in which they reside.
- The Due Process Clause, which extends the due process protections of the Fifth Amendment to the states, ensuring that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
- The Equal Protection Clause, which mandates that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, focusing on preventing state governments from denying equal protection due to group membership and aimed to limit race-based discrimination.
These provisions have been foundational to the expansion of civil rights in the United States, affecting legislation and Supreme Court decisions for over a century.