October 15, 1883: Supreme Court declares Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional. The bill was first introduced in 1870 by Republican senator from Massachusetts, Charles Sumner, and eliminated segregation in public and private business. He believed his bill would be a defining moment in American history and said, Very few measures of equal importance have ever been presented. As he was dying, he told his friend Frederick Douglass (who had political pull), Don’t let the bill fail. You must take care of [my] civil rights bill. On February 27, 1875, the bill passed the Senate 38-26 and became law on March 1, 1875. The bill specifically provided, That all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement; subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of every race and color, regardless of any previous condition of servitude. In fact, those who were denied access to such services because of their were also entitled to compensation in the bill from the federal government. The bill was declared unconstitutional on the grounds that the behavior of states could be regulated by the federal government but not individuals. Just over 20 years later in 1896, the court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal facilities provided to different races were constitutional. It would take over half a century for all people to be recognized as equal under the law.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 08:02:57 +0000