Why do some people call the Fourteenth Amendment the “Second Bill of Rights?"
Some people refer to the Fourteenth Amendment as the "Second Bill of Rights" because it extended fundamental rights and protections to all citizens, particularly to formerly enslaved African Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, was a response to the atrocities of slavery and the need to ensure equal treatment and due process under the law for all individuals.
The Bill of Rights, specifically the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, guarantees various individual freedoms and limits the power of the federal government. However, it initially did not apply to state governments. The Fourteenth Amendment sought to address this by incorporating the principles of the Bill of Rights at the state level and protecting citizens' rights from infringement by state governments. It includes provisions such as the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause, which prohibit states from denying individuals equal protection under the law or depriving them of life, liberty, or property without due process.
By effectively expanding the reach and application of the Bill of Rights to the states, the Fourteenth Amendment solidified and ensured the protection of essential liberties for all citizens. As a result, some people view it as an extension of the original Bill of Rights and hence refer to it as the "Second Bill of Rights."