Under the 14th Amendment, African Americans could now legally claim the same constitutional rights afforded to all American citizens. The Fourteenth Amendment addresses many aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens.Ratified in 1868, Congress and the courts have applied the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause to many aspects of public life over the past 150 years. Ratified in 1868, Congress and the courts have applied the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause to many aspects of public life over the past 150 years. Distinguish the freedoms guaranteed to African Americans and other groups with the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. The Citizenship Clause broadly defines citizenship, superseding the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. ' Still, over 100 years after passage of this amendment, Americans had not yet come to a complete agreement on its meaning. Museum of AfricanAmerican History and Culture, Florida. To protect black voting rights, Congress passed the 15th Amendment. Following the end of the Civil War, two constitutional provisions were ratified to protect the right of African Americans to vote.