The Slaughterhouse Cases held, one, that citizenship of a State was separate and distinct from citizenship of the United States; that a citizen of a State was separate and distinct from a citizen of the United States. Also held, that there are now two citizens under the Constitution of the United States of America, a citizen of the United States, at Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, and also a citizen of the several States, at Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution.

A citizen of the United States, under Section 1, Clause 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, can become also a citizen of a State. A citizen of the several States is also a citizen of a State, under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution ("the citizens of each State"), or; in other words, a citizen of a State, who is not a citizen of the United States, is entitled to privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States.