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Primary sourceDocument1868

14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights

United States Congress · 1868

The 1868 constitutional amendment granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people, defining the legal status Tubman spent decades seeking recognition under.

This amendment defined the citizenship of freedpeople like Tubman, who spent decades seeking federal recognition for her wartime service.

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Handwritten manuscript page of the Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution, with the heading 'Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States' and the text of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment, including 'Article XIV.' Ruled border lines frame the text.
House Joint Resolution proposing the 14th Amendment, 16 June 1866 (ratified 1868). U.S. National Archives, Washington, DC.

About this source

What it is

This is the House Joint Resolution proposing the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, submitted to the states in 1866 and ratified in 1868. It is held by the U.S. National Archives. The amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and guaranteed due process and equal protection under the law.

Why it matters

Congressman John A. Bingham was the primary author of its first section. The amendment was meant to secure the rights of newly freed Black Americans after the Civil War, though it took decades of further struggle, by both Black and white citizens, to make its promises real. Harriet Tubman, herself formerly enslaved, spent many years after the war seeking federal recognition and a pension for her wartime service — a struggle shaped by exactly the uncertain citizenship rights this amendment was meant to settle.

Look closer

  • Why would citizenship need to be written into the Constitution rather than assumed?
  • What does it mean that the amendment's promises were not fully honored for many years?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, James A. Garfield, Rutherford B. Hayes and Andrew Johnson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of an 1849 newspaper runaway-slave reward notice headed 'Three Hundred Dollars Reward', offering rewards for three runaways named Harry, Ben and Minty, signed by Eliza Ann Brodess near Bucktown, Dorchester County, Md.Newspaper article

Primary source

Three Hundred Dollars Reward Notice

Eliza Ann Brodess · 3 October 1849

Black-and-white studio portrait of a standing woman in a dark long-sleeved dress with a white collar, buttons down the bodice, and a tasseled key at her waist. Her hand rests on a draped chair; a hat and coat lie on a fringed stool, and a draped table stands at left against a plain backdrop with a column.Photograph

Primary source

Harriet Tubman

Harvey B. Lindsley · c. 1871-1876

Scan of a dark brown cloth book cover with a worn, faded light-colored title block at the top left, too faded to read clearly. The rest of the cover is plain, with a visible spine edge along the left side.Book

Secondary source

Harriet, the Moses of Her People

Sarah Bradford · 1886

Sepia carte-de-visite portrait of a seated Black woman in a dark long-sleeved dress with a white collar and a light checked skirt, leaning her arm on a spindle chair. Handwritten signature reads Harriet Tubman. Red and cream border.Photograph

Primary source

Carte-de-visite Portrait of Harriet Tubman

Benjamin Powelson · c. 1868-1869

Scanned handwritten General Affidavit form, filled in by hand, with a title printed at top. The text describes a claim for services as nurse and cook in hospitals and as commander of scouts during the Civil War. Signatures of affiants appear at the bottom, including Harriet Tubman's name and her mark.Document

Primary source

General Affidavit of Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman · 1898

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