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The Rights Of State Governments And The Federal Government

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Selective Incorporation, also called the Incorporation Doctrine, says that states cannot enact laws nor make court rulings that take away the constitutional rights of American citizens that are given by the Bill of Rights. Origins of this doctrine dates back to the beginning of constitutional America. There were debates over the relationship between the rights of state governments and the federal government. To guarantee that certain rights were not limited, the Federalist, an early political party, had insisted that the Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution before they signed it. But even years after the addition of the Bill of Rights to the constitution, there are still debates over the extent of the relationship the federal government has with state governments. On July 9, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified stating “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Since then this amendment has continued to play a divisive role in criminal procedures throughout history. The amendment guarantees the right to fairness in decisions made in a

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