The 14th Amendment established African Americans as equal citizens of the United States. This amendment overturned the 1857 Dred Scott v.If you feel your rights have been violated under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in Philadelphia, PA, contact H. Rosen Law, P.C.. The 14th Amendment wrote the Declaration of Independence's promise of freedom and equality into the Constitution. It transformed the Constitution forever. The Fourteenth Amendment addresses many aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens. Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson's veto and went even further, passing the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment was the result of local struggles and national debates on the political status of AfricanAmericans in the wake of slavery and the Civil War. The Citizenship Clause broadly defines citizenship, superseding the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. The Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863, granting freedom to all enslaved people within rebelling territories.