Answer:
D. Patricians held the political power and did not want to allow the common people a voice in government.
Don't Take The 14th Amendment For Granted. Originally enacted to protect blacks from inequality and violence after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment prohibits states from depriving persons of "life, liberty, or property" unfairly (i.e., without due process) and from denying any person "equal protection of the laws
"Cleansing the republican party of the taint of corruption and scandal"
It protects the innocents from harm
