1866 Civil Rights Act

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1866 Civil Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act (1866) was the most important action by Congress to protect the rights of Freedmen during Reconstruction after the American Civil War. It was passed by Congress (controlled by Radical Republicans) on April 9, 1866 over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. It nullified the Black Codes passed in every southern state in 1865 that gave Freedmen inferior legal status.

The act declared that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition. 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 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, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.

[edit] References

  • 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)
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