14) which best describes the way the fourteenth amendment affected the states? a) states had to give all citizens, regardless of their race or religion, equal protection under the law. b) states could no longer make any laws that were not approved by the federal government. c) states had to pass laws that gave more rights to freed slaves than to other citizens. d) states could no longer institute poll taxes or tests for citizens before they voted. 2) the term "reconstruction" in united states history refers to the period after what event? a) the civil war b) the revolutionary war c) the constitutional convention d) the declaration of independence