The incorporation doctrine is a constitutional doctrine through which selected provisions of the Bill of Rights Links to an external site. are made applicable to the states through the Due Process Links to an external site. clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This means that state governments are held to the same standards as the Federal Government regarding certain constitutional rights. The Supreme Court Links to an external site. could have used the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply the Bill of Rights to the states. However, in the Slaughter-House Cases Links to an external site. 83 US 36, the Supreme Court held that the Privileges and Immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment placed no restriction on the police powers of the state and it was intended to apply only to privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States and not the privileges and immunities of citizens of the individual states. This decision effectively put state laws beyond the review of the Supreme Court. To circumvent this, the Supreme Court began a process called “selective incorporation Links to an external site.” by gradually applying selected provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process clause.