Bell Ringers
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By sunshinecavalluzzi
On September 3, 2018

Bell Ringer: Privileges and Immunities Clause

History of the Privileges and Immunities Clause

Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute discusses the history and meaning of the privileges and immunities clause.

Description

Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution provides that "The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States," while Amendment XIV, Section 1 mandates that "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." These clauses reflect language also included in Article IV of the Articles of Confederation and are discussed in Federalist Papers 42 and 80. This clause has been interpreted to protect the fundamental rights of individual citizens and restrain states from discriminating against citizens of other states.

Bell Ringer Assignment

  • What are the historical roots of the privileges and immunities protections?
  • How, according to Roger Pilon, do privileges and immunities protections create an "explicit connection between natural law and civil law"?
  • What was Alexander Hamilton's position on the privileges and immunities clause, as asserted in the Federalist Papers?
  • How, according to Mr. Pilon, is the privileges and immunities clause principally read today?
  • Why, according to Professor Maggs, did Rep. John Bingham assert that it was necessary for the Fourteenth Amendment to protect privileges and immunities despite a guarantee already being included in Article IV?
  • AP Government - Questions to Consider: How do the privileges and immunities guarantees of the Constitution link to the Articles of Confederation? How do privileges and immunities guarantees link to equal protection? What historical evidence supports the founders' perception that a privileges and immunities guarantee was necessary? What modern controversial issues might arguably involve privileges and immunities violations?

Additional Resource

Participants

    Vocabulary

    • Article Iv
    • Articles Of Confederation
    • Constitution
    • Federalism
    • Federalist Papers
    • Fourteenth Amendment
    • Privileges And Immunities

    Topics

    AP U.S. Government Key TermsConstitutional Foundation

    Grades

    High School