Court Case
Slaughter-House Cases
The Supreme Court narrowly interpreted the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, sharply limiting its usefulness as a federal protection against state-level rights violations.
Year
1873
Impact
Negative
Status
Active
Party
Unknown
Era
Civil War and Reconstruction
Impact Context
Although not a case brought by Black plaintiffs, the ruling weakened Reconstruction constitutional enforcement and narrowed one of the main pathways for protecting Black citizenship rights against hostile state action.
What This Policy Did
Although not a case brought by Black plaintiffs, the ruling weakened Reconstruction constitutional enforcement and narrowed one of the main pathways for protecting Black citizenship rights against hostile state action.
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Sources
Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center • Government
Case text and decision date, including the Court's holding on the Privileges or Immunities Clause.
National Archives • Government
National Archives educational timeline explaining how the Slaughter-House Cases weakened the power of the Fourteenth Amendment.