14th Amendment On Insurrection In Orange
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The 14th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1866 and ratified by the states in 1868. Enacted after the Civil War, the disqualification clause aimed to keep former Confederate civil and military officeholders from returning to serve in the government they fought the overthrow.
Engaging in Insurrection and Rebellion The U.S. Constitution does not define insurrection or rebellion.
However, in 1872, Congress passed the Amnesty Act. This removed Section 3 disqualification for most former Confederate officials (except high-profile leaders like Jefferson Davis).
In enforcing by appropriate legislation the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees against state denials, Congress has the discretion to adopt remedial measures, such as authorizing persons being denied their civil rights in state courts to remove their cases to federal courts, 2200 and to provide criminal 2201 and civil 2202 ...
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 5 grants Congress the power to enforce the Amendment by "appropriate legislation." After adopting the Fourteenth Amendment, Congress passed legislation that criminalized insurrection. Today, this law is codified in 18 U.S. Code § 2383.
However, presidential invocation of the act might not be necessary. Two constitutional powers also arguably authorize Congress to determine the occurrence of an insurrection by legislation: the Militia Clause and Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
