Civil Rights Act of 1866 facts for kids
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| Long title | An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights and liberties, and furnish the Means of their Vindication. |
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| Acronyms (colloquial) | CRA 1866 |
| Enacted by | the 39th United States Congress |
| Effective | April 9, 1866 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 14 Stat. 27–30 |
| Legislative history | |
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| Major amendments | |
| Civil Rights Act of 1991 (Section 1981) P.L. 102–166 | |
| United States Supreme Court cases | |
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The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first major United States federal law to define who was a citizen. It also said that all citizens should have equal protection under the law. This act was passed right after the American Civil War. Its main goal was to protect the basic rights of African Americans who were born in or brought to the United States.
The Congress passed this law in 1866. However, President Andrew Johnson disagreed with it and used his power to veto it. A veto means the president rejects a bill, stopping it from becoming a law. In April 1866, Congress voted on the bill again. They wanted to support the Thirteenth Amendment, which had ended slavery. President Johnson vetoed the bill a second time. But this time, Congress had enough votes (a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives) to override his veto. This meant the bill became a law even without the president's signature.
Some lawmakers, like John Bingham, worried that Congress didn't have enough power under the Constitution to pass this law. To make sure the law was strong and constitutional, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868. After that, the 1866 Act was officially confirmed again in 1870.
Contents
What the Act Aimed to Do
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 had three main goals for including African Americans in American society after the Civil War:
- It clearly defined who an American citizen was.
- It listed the rights that came with being a citizen.
- It made it illegal to take away anyone's citizenship rights because of their race, color, or if they had been a slave.
Senator Lyman Trumbull wrote the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Congressman James F. Wilson explained the act's purpose when he introduced it in the House of Representatives. He said it was about making sure all citizens had equal "civil rights and immunities."
Wilson explained that "civil rights" did not mean that everyone, regardless of race, would be equal in all ways, like voting or serving on juries. Those were seen as "political rights" or other types of rights. Instead, "civil rights" meant basic rights that are not related to how the government is run.
During the lawmaking process, a key part was removed. This part would have said there should be "no discrimination in civil rights or immunities" based on race or past slavery. John Bingham supported removing this because he worried courts might interpret "civil rights" too broadly. Senator Trumbull later said the bill would not interfere with states that already protected everyone's rights.
On April 5, 1866, the Senate voted to override President Andrew Johnson's veto. This was a very important moment. It was the first time in U.S. history that Congress had overridden a presidential veto for such a major law.
What the Law Said
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 started by saying it was "An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the Means of their vindication." It declared that anyone born in the United States, who was not under the power of a foreign country, was a citizen. This was true no matter their race, color, or if they had been a slave. A similar idea was later included in the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The act also stated that all citizens had the same rights as white citizens. These rights included:
- Making and enforcing contracts (agreements).
- Suing others and being sued in court.
- Giving evidence in court.
- Inheriting, buying, renting, selling, owning, and transferring property.
The law also promised all citizens "full and equal benefit of all laws" for their safety and property. It said they would face "like punishment, pains, and penalties" as white citizens. If someone denied these rights based on race or past slavery, they could be found guilty of a minor crime. They could face a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in prison, or both.
The language in this act was very similar to the Equal Protection Clause that was later added to the Fourteenth Amendment. It talked about giving "reasonable protection to all persons in their constitutional rights of equality before the law, without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude."
This law was a big part of the government's plan during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. It was closely connected to the Second Freedmen's Bureau Act of 1866.
Even today, parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 are still in effect. For example, a section of the United States Code (42 U.S.C. §1981) says: "All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persons and property as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, penalties, taxes, licenses, and exactions of every kind, and to no other."
This section (42 U.S.C. §1981) comes from Section 1 of the original 1866 Act. It was later updated and confirmed by other laws, like the Enforcement Act of 1870.
Making it Law and Stronger
Republicans in Congress were worried that former slaves would only have "nominal freedom." This meant their freedom would exist only in name, without real protection. They believed the federal government should protect the rights of individual citizens. Senator Lyman Trumbull argued that Congress had the power to pass the 1866 Act. He said it would remove a "badge of servitude" (a sign of being a slave) that was forbidden by the Thirteenth Amendment.
However, Congressman John Bingham, who helped write the first part of the Fourteenth Amendment, was one of several Republicans who thought Congress didn't have the power to pass the 1866 Act at first. Much later, in the 1900s, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Trumbull's idea. They said Congress did have the power under the Thirteenth Amendment to stop racial discrimination by states and even by private individuals.
After President Johnson's veto was overridden, some members of Congress still wanted to make sure the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was fully constitutional. They also wanted to make sure no future Congress could easily change or get rid of its main parts. This is why they supported the Fourteenth Amendment. For example, the Citizenship Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment is very similar to the citizenship language in the 1866 Act. Also, the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment is like the non-discrimination parts of the 1866 Act.
The Fourteenth Amendment was fully approved in 1868. Two years later, in 1870, the 1866 Act was officially confirmed again as part of the Enforcement Act of 1870.
What Happened Next
After Congress overrode President Johnson's veto, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 became law. Even with this success, some Republicans who supported the act still wondered if Congress truly had the constitutional power to make these goals into laws. This experience made many Republicans, both radical and moderate, want to add guarantees for black rights directly into the Constitution. They didn't want to rely only on temporary political majorities in Congress.
However, groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) worked against the act. This meant that the law did not immediately succeed in fully protecting the civil rights of African Americans.
Even though it was legally illegal to discriminate in jobs and housing based on race since 1866, the federal government didn't provide strong penalties for this until the mid-1900s. This meant that people who faced discrimination often had to try to get justice on their own. Since many victims couldn't afford legal help, they often had no way to fight the discrimination.
Since the mid-1900s, more ways to get justice under this act have been created. Important court decisions, like Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. and Sullivan v. Little Hunting Park, Inc. in 1968, helped strengthen the act.
Images for kids
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A mural showing the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
