When a group of senior Republican senators called for hearings on repealing Amendment XIV to the United States Constitution, it was time to take a good look at the players and their motivations. What is the 14th Amendment about? When and why was it passed? How does it fit into today’s times and issues?

First the background: After the Civil War, three significant Amendments to the Constitution were passed –13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. Amendment XIII on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude within the United States. Amendment XIV, on July 9, 1868, Section 1. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Amendment XV on February 3, l870, Section 1, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.”

Ever since l868, the 14th Amendment has been the basis for many significant Supreme Court decisions on constitutional rights: Segregated schools are “inherently unequal” and unconstitutional. (Brown v. Board of Education); Bans on interracial marriage are unconstitutional. (Loving v. Virginia); Legislative districts must be equally apportioned, one person, one vote. (Reynolds v. Sims); States like the federal government must seek a warrant before searching your house. (Mapp v. Ohio). The Constitution has a right to privacy; and that right means states may not outlaw access to birth control. (Griswold v. Connecticut). States like the federal government must provide lawyers to criminal defendants. (Gideon v. Wainwright). States like the federal government must abide by the Second Amendment individual right to bear arms. (McDonald v. City of Chicago). States may not pass a law criminalizing homosexual sex between consenting adults. ( Lawrence v. Texas.) These cases resting on the 14th Amendment were landmark law, establishing precedents that affect the daily life of millions of citizens.

Over the past weeks, we have witnessed the rise of a new issue involving the 14th Amendment. Various elected Republican officials have been calling for hearings into whether the 14th Amendment should be repealed or amended. Their aim is to revise citizenship by birthright to ensure that babies born in the United States to illegal immigrants will not be granted American citizenship. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the highest ranking Republican in Congress said, “I think we ought to take a look at it – hold hearings, listen to the experts on it. I haven’t made a final decision about it, but that’s something that we clearly need to look at. Regardless of how you feel about the various aspects of immigration reform, I don’t think anybody thinks that’s something they’re comfortable with.” He has been joined by his chief deputy, Senator John Kyl of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina – a one-time proponent of comprehensive immigration reform –who has called for repeal of the 14th Amendment. Other Senate veterans, Republicans John Mc Cain and Chuck Grassley, also appear to be supportive of hearings.

In the House of Representatives, Lamar Smith of Texas has introduced the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009 that would deny children of illegal immigrants U.S. citizenship through statute rather than changing the 14th Amendment. There are 93 cosponsors for that bill. In the Arizona state legislature, state senator Russell Pearce said he would introduce a bill to deny birth certificates to U.S. born children of illegal immigrants whom he calls “anchor babies.” In an interview, he said of Hispanic immigrants, “This is an orchestrated effort by them to come here and have children to gain access to the great welfare state we have created.”

Many Democratic members of Congress see this entire matter as a short-term political issue that Republicans have mounted to garner votes from their conservative base in the mid-term election in November. They are joined by many political commentators who forecast that in the long run, the Hispanic vote could be lost to the Republican party for decades. Chances of changing or repealing one of the Constitutional Amendments are remote. On record, more than ten thousand amendments to the Constitution have been proposed over the years. After the original ten in the Bill of Rights were passed in l791, only 17 Amendments have been added to The Constitution. The XXVII Amendment was ratified on May 7, 1992 by the vote of Michigan.

Senator Russell Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, spoke of his concern, “We can and should address the problem of illegal immigration head-on without amending the Constitution. The way to do that is to pass bipartisan comprehensive legislation improving border security, protecting American jobs and addressing those currently in the country illegally. It is past time for Congress to resume the bipartisan effort that was started by President Bush and enact meaningful federal immigration reform.” He was joined by Representative Raul Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona whose district is on the U.S.- Mexico border. Grijalva warned, “If we don’t start dealing with a solid package pretty soon out of this Congress, then we give the wing nuts like Russell Pearce the opportunity to not only introduce legislation but mobilize people and keep this issue constantly on the front burner.”

Historians have chronicled Nativist movements in the United States through the centuries aimed at different groups in different eras. In the l850s, the American Party or Know Nothings drew on economic hard times to lash out at the Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Germany. The Oriental Exclusion Act of l882 followed decades of using cheap “coolie” labor to build the transcontinental railroad while warning of the “Yellow Peril.” World War I saw attacks upon Americans of German descent. World War II brought the most severe governmental action when 120,000 Japanese Americans – half of whom were U.S. citizens – were deprived of their civil rights and interned at camps throughout the western states. It should always be noted that when the Japanese-American men were allowed to join the United States Army in l943, they fought fiercely in Italy, earning the most decorations and sustaining the highest number of casualties in the European Theater of Operations. They were known as the “Go For Broke” unit, leading the Victory Parade when the war ended in Europe.

We must always be wary of any attempt to attack, marginalize or challenge American citizens as “other.” The 14th Amendment made very clear that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States . . . are citizens.”

Joyce S. Anderson is the author of “Courage in High Heels,” “Flaw in the Tapestry,” “If Winter Comes” and “The Mermaids Singing.” She can be reached at JSAWrite@aol.com.