History and Application of the 14th Amendment
Story by Isabella Kates, image via The Texas Politics Project
Robert Dale Owen Jr. was a Scottish socialist who immigrated to the United States in 1825. He largely supported gender equality, economic radicalism, and the rights of African-Americans, spending much of his career as a Congressman from Indiana advocating for these beliefs. Perhaps one of Owen’s biggest contributions to Reconstruction was the Fourteenth Amendment. The legislation was first proposed by John Bingham in an attempt to ensure the protection of former slaves. But Bingham’s proposal was forgotten and those who wanted the 14th amendment focused their energies on the Civil Rights Act of 1866. During this hiatus, Owen wrote two letters to Johnson, calling for a Constitutional Amendment that addressed African American voting rights. He understood that, if it was left up to the states, they would establish all white legislatures and place blacks in a position similar to slavery where they were not considered citizens. Owens was originally a Democratic congressman, but after the war became a strong abolitionist and close friends with Thaddeus Stevens. In 1866, Owen met with Stevens to resurrect the 14th amendment movement. Owen’s proposal was mainly to place slaves under the protection of the Federal government and limit southerners' political power. His suggestion provided that, if the ex-Confederate states ratified the amendment, they could rejoin the Union. However, Owen’s writings included a clause where freedmen could only vote after 10 years. Owen thought that the delay would allow African Americans to receive an education and reduce southern white opposition to the amendment. The only dissenter out of the Republicans was George Boutwell, who thought that race-blind suffrage should be implemented immediately. Owen’s proposal was changed by Radical Republicans and Democrats before it was adopted, but is still known as the “mother document”. It is also important to note that Owen’s version did not restrict voting rights to males. He saw a chance to make history as an activist who included those without a voice at the table.
Since the ratification of the 14th amendment and Owen’s work, it has been applied and interpreted in many Supreme Court cases. United States v. Wheeler set an important precedent that determined how the 14th is used currently, especially the principle of comity. It is necessary to understand the background of the case, which focuses on kidnapping and the privileges and immunities clause, before the court’s decision is discussed. Tensions rose when workers at the coal mines held a peaceful strike in the town of Bisbee, Arizona. They were also members of the IWW labor union, a socialist and slightly anarchist group. The president of the Phelps Dodge Corporation (the mining company) met with the sheriff where they decided to forcibly deport the workers and abandon them hundreds of miles away without the resources to survive. The employees of the El Paso and South Western railroad line agreed to provide transportation for this initiative. On July 12th, a group of 2,200 deputies arrested all workers on strike and suspected IWW sympathizers— those who denounced the IWW were freed, but the rest were arrested at gunpoint and transported through the desert. The New Mexican governor contacted President Woodrow Wilson, who sent troops to escort the men to a refugee camp after this event. Sheriff Wheeler held Bisbee in lockdown for months after with armed guards at all entrances to prevent any unauthorized people from entering. Finally, Wilson ordered a commission to investigate the dispute and the Department of Justice arrested the mining company executives and law enforcement officials. However, there was no federal law at the time that focused on kidnapping or declared it a crime. So, the government had relied on implied federal power to prosecute Wheeler.
The Phelps-Dodge attorney filed a case to release the arrested men under the title United States v. Wheeler. W.C. Herron argued for the United States, and Evan Hughes led the Phelps-Dodge team. Chief Justice Edward White wrote the opinion for the 8-1 majority in favor of Wheeler, where he came to the landmark conclusion that only states could enforce the “privileges and immunities” clause of the 14th amendment. He used the Slaughter House cases and United States v. Harris to ground his decision, and concluded that seizing and deporting citizens is not a violation of the Criminal Code. White held that Constitution alone did not grant the federal government the power to prosecute kidnappers, and that only the states had the authority to punish a private citizen's unlawful violation of another's freedom of movement. He stated, “[The] Constitution plainly intended to preserve and enforce the limitation…” and thus “the continued possession by the States of the reserved power to deal with free residence, ingress and egress, cannot be denied.” He also outlined the right to travel and the principle of comity, which had not previously been specified as a constitutional guarantee. The 14th amendment played a crucial role in determining White’s point of view. After the case, many of the deported men brought cases against Wheeler, but a jury ruled them innocent, listening to the argument that the IWW workers were a threat to public safety. The other civil suits were dropped and few citizens returned to Bisbee.
