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 to make their own laws