Incorporate

Definition

In this context, incorporating means applying or extending something on a national level. If the 14th Amendment did not incorporate any of the Bill of Rights, it would mean those rights would only apply at the federal level but not necessarily at the state level.

Related terms

Selective Incorporation: The process through which Supreme Court decisions gradually extended protections from the Bill of Rights to apply at both federal and state levels.

Due Process: The legal requirement that the government must respect all legal rights owed to individuals, including procedural and substantive rights.

Enumerated Powers: The powers specifically listed in the Constitution that are granted to the federal government.