Question

The passage below is an excerpt from the Fourteenth Amendmen
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.

Which statement explains why this amendment was adopted?
to extend voting rights to emancipated slaves
to protect the civil rights of African Americans
to prevent states from seceding from the Union
to guarantee states' rights