Ben Shapiro said the Fourteenth Amendment came "one week or two weeks after the Civil War ended." Congress proposed it fourteen months after Appomattox and it was ratified more than three years later.

Verdict: false. Truth score 0.15, confidence 0.95.

On August 7, 2026, at 13:03 in Episode 2481 of The Ben Shapiro Show ("FINALLY: Trump ENDS Birth Tourism!"), Shapiro delivered a historical premise in support of two executive orders Trump signed the day before: the Fourteenth Amendment "was meant for the babies of slaves" and was adopted "one week or two weeks after the Civil War ended."

The dates: Lee surrendered at Appomattox April 9, 1865. The Senate passed the amendment June 8, 1866; the House June 13, 1866. Ratification completed July 9, 1868 — more than three years and three months after the fighting ended.

The steelman ...