Reviewed by Robert Rose for Readers' Favorite

Before the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, the North used winning the war to prevent paying any war debts, limiting the power of the states and limiting the representation of the Southern states in the federal government. Northerners continued to take property and limit the rights of those they felt were insurgents and rebels against the government. Anger and hatred replaced justice and due process.

The Fourteenth Amendment was not the cause of lack of Southern representation, but it was the result of it. Congressional Radicals made sure the South would be shut out of any participation in the federal government until they paid "reparations." Those included ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. The amendment still stands as it was written and misused then, but no one has challenged it. In Due Process Denied: Why the Fourteenth Amendment Never Became Part of the Constitution George Pierce Ritter is doing so with the hope, not that he thinks the Amendment will be changed, but that once people understand it, they will get stronger in fighting the erosion of local and individual rights. He shows how the judiciary has gone along with this, but we can challenge the abuses of power in all the branches of government.

As a person who believes our civil rights are being constantly taken away by government, that is, using our fear of a repeat of 9/11, I believe this book may wake some of us up to rebel against government intrusion. I have seen how seldom due process is used in families, schools, businesses, and governments. This is a useful book.