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Civil Rights Act of 1866

 

 
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Civil Rights Act of 1866
 
 
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, April 9, 1866 A.D.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
39th
39th United States Congress

The Thirty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 
Long title: CHAP XXXI.






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, April 9, 1866 A.D.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
39th
39th United States Congress

The Thirty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 
Long title: CHAP XXXI. — An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the Means of their vindication.
Authored by: 
Introduced by: 
Dates
Date passed: House:April 9, 1866
Senate
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
:April 6, 1866.
 
Date signed into law: 1866
Amendments: 
Related legislation: 
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is a piece of United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 legislation that gave further rights to the freed slaves
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
 after the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

Contents of Act & Controversy

Throughout American history several pieces of legislation have been called the Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act

Civil Rights Act may refer to:...
 - this was the first such act. It was the most important action by Congress towards protecting the rights of Freedmen during Reconstruction. The Republican
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
-dominated United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 passed the act in March 1866, as a counterattack against the Black Codes
Black Codes in the USA

The Black Codes were laws passed on the state and local level mainly in the rural Southern states in the United States to limit the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans....
 in the southern United States, which had been recently enacted by all former slave states following the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime....
. Included in the Civil Rights Act were the rights to make contracts, sue
Lawsuit

In law, a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, called the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy or equitable remedy....
, bear witness in court and own private property. President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , succeeding to the Presidency upon Abraham Lincoln assassination of Abraham Lincoln....
 vetoed the bill, saying that blacks were not qualified for United States citizenship
Citizenship

Citizenship refers to a person's membership in a political community such as a country or city. It has different legal definitions in different countries....
 and that the bill would "operate in favor of the colored and against the white race."

The Republicans in congress overrode the presidential veto
Veto

A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is used to denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a piece of legislation. In practice, the veto can be absolute or limited ...
 on April 9, 1866. The act declared that "all persons born in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed," were citizens of the United States. Such citizens were "of every race and color" and "without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude." As citizens they could make and enforce contracts, sue and be sued, give evidence in court, and inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real estate and personal property. Persons who denied these rights to former slaves were guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction faced a fine not exceeding $1,000 and/or imprisonment not exceeding one year. It was the first major law ever enacted due to an override of a presidential veto.

Congressional action in regard to this legislation also gave impetus to a question concerning Congress's constitutional authority to make such a law. The questions were quickly put to rest following the proposal and ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is one of the post-American Civil War Reconstruction Amendments that was first intended to secure the rights of former Slavery in the United States....
.

Consequences


A far-reaching consequence of this act is that since 1866, it has been illegal to discriminate in housing based on race. However, federal solutions were not provided for, and remedies were left to the individuals involved. Because those being discriminated against had limited access to legal help, this left many victims of discrimination without recourse. Since the latter half of the 20th century, there have been an increasing number of remedies provided under this act, including the landmark Jones v. Mayer decision in 1968.

Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first major anti-discrimination employment statute. This act prohibited employment discrimination based on race and color. This Act has been interpreted by the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 to protect African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
s, Asian American
Asian American

Asian Americans are United States of Asian people. They include sub-ethnic groups such as Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Indian Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, Japanese Americans and others whose national origin is from the Asia....
s, white Americans and other groups.

Based on Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb, 481 U.S. 615 (1987) 107 S.Ct. 2019, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 covers people of the Jewish religion because at the time the act was passed, Jewish people were considered a distinct race. Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 protects from discrimination identifiable classes of persons who are subjected to intentional discrimination solely because of their ancestry or ethnic characteristics. Similarly, Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
s are protected under the act.

Footnotes


See also

  • American Civil Rights Movement
  • Radical Republican (USA)


External links

  • - 42 U.S. Code 21 §§1981, 1981A