After the Civil War, Congress adopted a number of measures to protect individual rights from interference by the states. Among them was the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits the states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

Under both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, neither the federal government nor state governments may deprive any person “of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”

The Fifth Amendment says to the federal government that no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." The Fourteenth Amendment , ratified in 1868, uses the same eleven words, called the Due Process Clause, to describe a legal obligation of all states.

The Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. 1 Footnote U.S. Const. amend. V. Generally, due process guarantees protect individual rights by limiting the exercise of government power. 2 Footnote Due Process, Black’s Law Dictionary 610 (10th ed. 2014).

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.

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.

The Fifth Amendment provides that “no person” shall be deprived of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” 1 Footnote U.S. Const. amend. V. Generally, “due process” guarantees protect individual rights by limiting the exercise of government power.2 Footnote Due Process, Black’s Law Dictionary 610 (10th ed. 2014).