14 Stat. 27, April 9, 1866 A.D. Civil Rights Act of 1866
39th United States Congress
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:April 6, 1866.
Date signed into law:	1866
Amendments:
Related legislation:

The Civil Rights Act Of 1866 is a piece of United States legislation that gave further rights to the freed slaves after the end of the American Civil War. The United States Statutes at Large, commonly referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the official source for the laws and resolutions passed by Congress. ... is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political... The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... Slave redirects here. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

Contents of Act & Controversy

Throughout American history several pieces of legislation have been called the [Civil Rights Act] - this was the third such act. It was the most important action by Congress towards protecting the rights of Freedmen during Reconstruction. The Republican-dominated United States Congress passed the act in March 1866, as a counterattack against the Black Codes 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. Included in the Civil Rights Act were the rights to: make contracts, sue, bear witness in court and own private property. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, saying that blacks were not qualified for United States citizenship and that the bill would "operate in favor of the colored and against the white race." A freedman is a former slave who has been manumitted or emancipated. ... For other uses, see Reconstruction (disambiguation). ... GOP redirects here. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political... The Black Codes were laws passed on the state and local level in the United States to restrict the civil rights and civil liberties of Black People, particularly former slaves. ... Amendment XIII in the National Archives The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished, and continues to prohibit slavery and, with limited exceptions (those convicted of a crime), prohibits involuntary servitude. ... Civil action redirects here. ... For other persons of the same name, see Andrew Johnson (disambiguation). ... Citizen redirects here. ...

The Republicans in congress overrode the presidential veto on April 9, 1866. The act declared that "all persons born in the United States 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."^[1] 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. The word veto comes from Latin and literally means I forbid. ...

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. For other uses, see Race. ... Holding ... Court membership Case opinions Laws applied ... Jones v. ...

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 to protect African Americans, Asian Americans, white Americans and other groups. The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the acronym SCOTUS[1]) is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... An Asian American is a person of Asian ancestry or origin who was born in or is an immigrant to the United States. ... A European American, or a Euro-American, is an American of European descent. ...

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^[2] (even though Judaism is not a race) 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, Arabs are protected under the act. Although Arabs may now be classified as Caucasians, at the time the Act was written, Arabs were considered a different race.^[3] The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ...

Footnotes

The United States Statutes at Large, commonly referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the official source for the laws and resolutions passed by Congress. ...

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Civil Rights Act of 1866

• American Civil Rights Movement
• Radical Republican (USA)

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... The civil rights movement in the United States has been a long, primarily nonviolent struggle to bring full civil rights and equality under the law to all citizens of United States. ... Frémont (left), 1856 Republican parade banner The Radical Republicans were the remaining faction of American politicians within the Republican party during the American Civil War and Reconstruction following an 1864 exodus of pro-Lincoln Republicans into the creation of the National Union Party. ...

References

This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

• Herman Belz. A New Birth of Freedom: The Republican Party and Freedom Rights, 1861 to 1866 (2000)
• Eric Foner. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (1988)

Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

External links

• Text of Civil Rights Act of 1866 - 42 U.S. Code 21 §§1981, 1981A