Final answer:
The 14th Amendment's Privileges or Immunities Clause and due process and equal protection clauses protect national fundamental rights for all persons, not just citizens. It extends the Bill of Rights to the states, ensuring national standards for civil liberties.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the 14th Amendment's Protection of Fundamental Rights
Under the 14th Amendment, particularly the Privileges or Immunities Clause, only national fundamental rights are protected. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, is essential to understanding the scope and limits of civil liberties in the United States. It encompasses several provisions such as the due process clause and the equal protection clause, which extend constitutional rights not only to citizens but to all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States.
Permanent residents enjoy many of the rights of American citizens, having been guaranteed constitutional rights under due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. As exemplified in the landmark case Yick Wo v. Hopkins, the Supreme Court has upheld that the equal protection clause does apply to resident aliens.
The 14th Amendment also allows for the extension of the Bill of Rights to the states, providing a national standard for civil liberties that states cannot infringe upon. This incorporation of fundamental liberties has been established through numerous Supreme Court decisions, such as Sherbert v. Verner, where it was ruled that states could not deny unemployment benefits based on an individual's religious observances.
In summary, the 14th Amendment plays a pivotal role in protecting fundamental rights at a national level, acting as a crucial vehicle for the application of the Bill of Rights to state action and ensuring that all persons receive fair treatment under the law.