Civil Rights Act of 1866
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The Civil Rights Act of 1866 declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens, "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude." Although President Andrew Johnson vetoed the legislation, that veto was overturned by the 39th United States Congress and the bill became law. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the nation's first civil rights law.[1]
Background[edit]
Under President Andrew Johnson's (D) Reconstruction policy, the former Confederate states were required to maintain abolition, swear loyalty to the United States, and pay their war debts in order to rejoin the Union. Under Johnson's Reconstruction policy, southern states adopted and enacted a series of laws "designed to restrict freed blacks’ activity and ensure their availability as a labor force." Although these laws recognized certain liberties, they largely denied black citizens equal protection under the law. For instance, these laws restricted property, contract, and labor rights for black citizens. Republican lawmakers in the United States Congress, who "believed the federal government had a role in shaping a multiracial society in the postwar South," opposed Johnson's plan for Reconstruction and sought a different approach.[2][3][4]
Legislative history[edit]
Senator Lyman Trumbull (R-Illinois) introduced the bill in the United States Senate on January 5, 1866. On February 2, 1866, the Senate voted to approve the bill 33-12. On March 13, 1866, the United States House of Representatives approved the legislation by a vote of 111-38, with 34 members not voting. Representative William Lawrence (R-Ohio), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the following in support of the act:[5]
| “ | There are certain absolute rights which pertain to every citizen, which are inherent, and of which a State cannot constitutionally deprive him. But not only are those rights inherent and indestructible, but the means whereby they may be possessed and enjoyed are equally so. ... Every citizen, therefore, has the absolute right to live, the right of personal security, personal liberty, and the right to acquire and enjoy property. These are rights of citizenship. As necessary incidents of these rights there are others, as the right to make and enforce contracts, to purchase, hold, and enjoy property, and to share the benefit of laws for the security of person and property.[6] | ” |
| —Representative William Lawrence | ||
On March 27, 1866, President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act. Johnson wrote the following in his veto statement:[7]
| “ | In all our history, in all our experience as a people living under Federal and State law, no such system as that contemplated by the details of this bill has ever before been proposed or adopted. They establish for the security of the colored race safeguards which go indefinitely beyond any that the General Government has ever provided for the white race. In fact, the distinction of race and color is by the bill made to operate in favor of the colored against the white race. They interfere with the municipal legislation of the States; with relations existing exclusively between a State and its citizens, or between inhabitants of the same State; an absorption and assumption of power by the General Government which, if acquiesced in, must sap and destroy our federative system of limited power, and break down the barriers which preserve the rights of the States.[6] | ” |
| —President Andrew Johnson | ||
On April 6, 1866, the Senate voted 33-15 to override Johnson's veto. The House followed suit on April 9, 1866, by a vote of 122-41, with 21 members not voting. As a result, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 became law.[8]
Key features[edit]
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is notable for being the nation's first civil rights law. The act established that all persons born in the United States, regardless of race, color, or "previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude," were entitled to basic rights of citizenship "in every state and territory in the United States." The law further declared that all such individuals were entitled to the following specific rights:[1]
- "to make and enforce contracts"
- "to sue, be parties, and give evidence" in court
- "to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property"
- "to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other"
The law also provided for the conviction and punishment of individuals who violated the law.[1]
Later developments[edit]
The Civil Rights of 1866 did not address political rights, which include the right to vote and the right to hold public office. The Fifteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, ratified in February 1870, guaranteed to all United States citizens the right to vote regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Even so, according to the National Constitution Center, the Fifteenth Amendment "had little impact for almost a century because states imposed poll taxes, literacy tests, and other restrictions that kept African Americans from voting." Subsequent legislative actions in the 20th century, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, were taken to address this problem.[2][9]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- PBS, "The 1866 Civil Rights Act," December 19, 2003
- The Yale Law Journal, "The Enforcement Provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866: A Legislative History in Light of Runyon v. McCrary," accessed July 8, 2015
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Library of Congress, "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875," accessed July 8, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Encyclopedia.com, "Civil Rights Act of 1866," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ PBS, 'Black Codes and Pig Laws," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ History.com, "Black Codes," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ The Yale Law Journal, "The Enforcement Provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866: A Legislative History in Light of Runyon v. McCrary," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ TeachingAmericanHistory.org, "Veto of the Civil Rights Bill, Andrew Johnson," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ United States House of Representatives–History, Art and Archives," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ National Constitution Center, "Amendment XV," accessed July 8, 2015
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