They may have had in mind but one particular phase of social
and political wrong, which they desired to redress--yet, if
the Amendment, as framed and expressed, does, in fact, have
a broader meaning, and does extend its protecting shield
over those who were never thought of when it was conceived
and put in form, and does reach such social evils which were
never before prohibited by constitutional amendment, it is
to be presumed that the American people, in giving it their
imprimatur, understood what they were doing, and meant to
decree what has, in fact, been done.... It embraces much
more. The "privileges and immunities" secured by the
original Constitution were only such as each State gave its
own citizens. Each was prohibited from discriminating in
favor of its own citizens, and against the citizens of other
States. But the XIV. Amendment prohibits any State from
abridging the privileges or immunities of the citizens of
the United States, whether its own citizens or any others.
It not merely requires equality of privileges, but it
demands that the privileges and immunities of all citizens
shall be absolutely unabridged, unimpaired. (1 Abbott's U.
S. Rep., 397).

It will doubtless be urged as an objection to my position (that
citizenship carries with it the right to vote) that it would, in
that case, follow that infants and lunatics, who, as well as
adults and persons of sound mind, are citizens, would also have
that right. This objection, which appears to have great weight
with certain classes of persons, is entirely without force. It
takes no note of the familiar fact, that every legislative
provision, whether constitutional or statutory, which confers any
discretionary power, is always confined in its operation to
persons who are _compos mentis_. It is wholly unnecessary to
except idiots and lunatics out of any such statute. They are
excluded from the very nature of the case. The contrary
supposition would be simply absurd. And, in respect to every such
law, infants, during their minority, are in the same class. But
are women, who are not infants, ever included in this category?
Does any such principle of exclusion apply to them?