Skip to content

Learn / Constitution

The Constitution.

Read the words. See the structure. Understand what connects them.

Preamble · Seven Articles
Twenty-seven Amendments

Hover or focus a clause to bring it forward. Select it to open the reading notes.

Constitutional text

Amendment XIV · Section 5

1 selectable clause · PDF page 14

The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Notes supplied with the source text

Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868. (Note: Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution was modified by Section 2 of the 14th Amendment.) *Changed by Section 1 of the 26th Amendment.

Source: the uploaded National Constitution Center edition. Historical wording and its bracket markers remain visible; later amendments and the reading notes explain changes.

Clause notes