What does incorporation refer to in a legal context?

Incorporation refers to the legal doctrine that extends the protections of the Bill of Rights to apply to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. Initially, the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government, but through the process of incorporation, various rights have been gradually applied to the states. This means that state laws and actions are subject to the same limitations on government power as those at the federal level, ensuring that individual rights, such as freedom of speech and protection against unreasonable searches, are safeguarded across both federal and state jurisdictions. This doctrine has evolved through numerous Supreme Court decisions that interpret the application of specific amendments in relation to state laws.