United States Civil Rights Act of 1875
- When
- 1875–1883
- Where
- United States Capitol; Supreme Court
- Episodes
- 2
The Civil Rights Act of 1875, enacted during the Reconstruction era, prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations, transportation, and jury service. Originally drafted by Senator Charles Sumner in 1870, the bill was passed by the 43rd Congress in February 1875 as a memorial to Sumner. Signed into law on March 1, 1875, it was the last major Reconstruction legislation until 1957, though its public accommodation provisions were later ruled unconstitutional in 1883.
Episodes
- Passage of the Civil Rights Act
The 43rd Congress passed the bill in February 1875 as a memorial to Senator Charles Sumner, who had died in 1874.
- Supreme Court Ruling
In 1883, the Supreme Court declared the public accommodation sections of the act unconstitutional in the Civil Rights Cases.
Background and detail
Background. The Civil Rights Act of 1875, also known as the Enforcement Act, was a federal law designed to protect citizens' civil and legal rights. It provided for equal treatment in public accommodations and transportation and prohibited exclusion from jury service. The legislation was originally drafted by Senator Charles Sumner in 1870 but was not passed until after his death in 1874, serving as a memorial to him.
Enforcement and Legacy. Historian John Hope Franklin notes that President Grant never commented on the 1875 law and did nothing to enforce it. The act was the last federal civil rights law enacted until 1957. In 1883, the Supreme Court ruled the public accommodation sections unconstitutional, stating Congress lacked control over private persons under the Equal Protection Clause. Parts of the act were later re-adopted in 1964 and 1968.
People involved
- Charles Sumner · Original Drafter
- Ulysses S. Grant · President
- John Hope Franklin · Historian
Sources
- Civil Rights Act of 1875 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-02-05
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.