Grants citizenship to all former slaves and guarantees equal protection under the law.

• A. 13th Amendment
• B. 14th Amendment
• C. 15th Amendment
• D. Ex Parte Merryman

Answer: (B)

This question tests understanding of which amendment protects citizenship and guarantees equal protection under the law. The statement describes two key provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment: it defines who is a citizen and it requires states to treat people fairly under the law. It says that anyone born or naturalized in the United States is a citizen, and it prohibits the states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This was added after the Civil War to ensure that former slaves would have full citizenship and legal rights.

By contrast, the abolition of slavery is the hallmark of the Thirteenth Amendment, which ends slavery but does not define citizenship or guarantee equal protection. The Fifteenth Amendment protects the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, but it doesn’t establish general citizenship or equal protection. Ex Parte Merryman is a Supreme Court case about habeas corpus during the Civil War, not an amendment addressing citizenship or equal protection.