According to the U.S. Senate archives, the amendment was passed by the Senate on June 8, 1866, and ratified two years later. Besides granting citizenship to all persons “born or naturalized in the United States,†including formerly enslaved people, and providing everyone with “equal protection under the laws,†it also banned those who “engaged in insurrection†against the U.S. from holding any civil, military or elected office without the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate.[/u]
