<P> The Citizenship Clause overruled the Supreme Court 's Dred Scott decision that black people were not citizens and could not become citizens , nor enjoy the benefits of citizenship . Some members of Congress voted for the Fourteenth Amendment in order to eliminate doubts about the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 , or to ensure that no subsequent Congress could later repeal or alter the main provisions of that Act . The Civil Rights Act of 1866 had granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States if they were not subject to a foreign power , and this clause of the Fourteenth Amendment constitutionalized this rule . </P>
<P> The Citizenship Clause overruled the Supreme Court 's Dred Scott decision that black people were not citizens and could not become citizens , nor enjoy the benefits of citizenship . Some members of Congress voted for the Fourteenth Amendment in order to eliminate doubts about the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 , or to ensure that no subsequent Congress could later repeal or alter the main provisions of that Act . The Civil Rights Act of 1866 had granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States if they were not subject to a foreign power , and this clause of the Fourteenth Amendment constitutionalized this rule . </P>
ratified by the states in 1868 the fourteenth amendment granted full citizenship rights to
ratified by the states in 1868 the fourteenth amendment granted full citizenship rights to
all persons born in the United States if they were not subject to a foreign power
all persons born in the United States if they were not subject to a foreign power