Did The Congress Made Amendment 14 to Punish the South? Amendment #14 punished the south for the entire rebellion, and the Civil War. The way that Congress made the law made it seem that it was helping the Freedmen, however, most of the sections are directed to the south, or made so that the only people who would violate these sections would be the southern states. Paragraph 1 states that Ex-slaves made citizens if they have been born in the United States. This part doesn't hurt the south, in fact, it gives them and advantage on the number of reps in the House. It