Originally Posted by
VH-RMD
the preamble - the United States are exactly that, a collection of united States, the 'federal' only exists because the States agreed to be united.
Therefore, any reference to the State is a reference to the agreed united States.
(I am not an American however, natives may be able to explain this in a more fulsome way).
I am a native, but I still do not agree with you. The purpose of the 14th Amendment was to ensure that all civil liberties granted by the federal government to United States citizens were respected by each state, with regards to enforcing state law. However, the only implications for the federal government are in terms defining citizenship. The second half of section one makes clear reference to individual states.