On July 9, 1868, the last of the 28 states needed to approve the Fourteenth Amendment acted, and Secretary of State William Henry Seward formally announced the ratification on July 28. It was a momentous event, a change to our constitutional system so fundamental that historians have put it on a par with the ratification of the original Constitution itself. In many ways, it gave Americans a new constitution.

Written by Michael Les Benedict. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Victoria Paige, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/july-2018-150-years-fourteenth-amendment.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.