Which of the following statements describes the 14th Amendment?

The statement that declares all persons born in the U.S. are citizens accurately describes the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868. This landmark amendment explicitly granted citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States, thereby countering the Dred Scott decision of 1857 that denied citizenship to African Americans. The amendment aimed to ensure that former slaves and their descendants would be recognized as full citizens with equal protection under the law. This provision was instrumental in the struggle for civil rights and equality, as it laid the foundation for various Supreme Court decisions addressing citizenship and equal protection.

In contrast, the other statements do not correctly reflect the primary focus of the 14th Amendment: while abolishing slavery is addressed by the 13th Amendment, voting rights are primarily covered by the 15th Amendment, and marital rights have not been specifically established by the 14th Amendment but have evolved through subsequent legal interpretations and rulings.