not themselves aware of the far-reaching character of its terms. They
may have had in mind but one particular phase of social and political
wrong, which they desired to redress--yet, if the amendment, as framed
and expressed, does, in fact, have a broader meaning, and does extend
its protecting shield over those who were never thought of when it was
conceived and put in form, and does reach such social evils which were
never before prohibited by constitutional amendment, it is to be
presumed that the American people, in giving it their imprimatur,
understood what they were doing, and meant to decree what has, in fact,
been done....

"It embraces much more. The 'privileges and immunities' secured by the
original Constitution were only such as each State gave its own
citizens. Each was prohibited from discriminating in favor of its own
citizens, and against the citizens of other States.

"But the fourteenth amendment prohibits any State from abridging the
privileges or immunities of the citizens of the United States, whether
its own citizens or any others. It not merely requires equality of
privileges, but it demands that _the privileges and immunities of all
citizens shall be absolutely unabridged, unimpaired_. (_1 Abbott's U.S.
Rep. 397._)

It will doubtless be urged as an objection to my position (that
citizenship carries with it the right to vote) that it would, in that
case, follow that infants and lunatics, who, as well as adults and
persons of sound mind, are citizens, would also have that right. This
objection, which appears to have great weight with certain classes of
persons, is entirely without force. It takes no note of the familiar
fact, that every legislative provision, whether constitutional or