A Century of Civil Rights Acts (1866-1968)

The Civil Rights Act of April 9, 1866

was passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto and was fashioned to prevent him and southern conservatives from continuing black servitude with the sanction of the Black Codes (more commonly known as "Jim Crow" laws). The most important provisions were that blacks were declared citizens and granted equal rights to contracts, suits, access to trials, purchases and properties, with penalties for violations of these rights.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875

guaranteed to all persons, regardless of race or color, the "full and equal enjoyment" of inns, public conveyances and public places of amusement. It also gave the right to sue for personal damages; gave federal courts exclusive jurisdiction over all cases arising under the act and made it a misdemeanor to bar any qualified person from serving as a grand or petit juror. This was last piece of civil rights legislation passed until 1957.

President Truman initiated some civil rights legislation, including in 1948 a comprehensive program of federal civil rights legislation which failed to pass the Senate. Under Executive Orders, he desegregated the Armed Forces and federal agencies.

The Civil Rights Act of 1957

was a weak compromise, but created the Commission on Civil Rights with the purpose of making a broad study of racial conditions in the US. It gave additional aid to the civil rights division in the US Dept. of Justice and empowered the Attorney General to institute suits on behalf of blacks who were denied the vote in federal elections.

The Civil Rights Act of 1960

was passed to combat continued interference with the right to vote and terrorist activity against African-Americans. It was designed to end discriminatory registration practices in south and interference with federal suits and investigations. It was largely ineffective because of weak enforcement mechanisms.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

was passed after increasing political pressure and violence against African-Americans. The drive for its passage was boosted by the assassination of JFK. This was the most far-reaching legislation of its kind since Reconstruction. It included 11 titles which dealt with voting practices, segregation, provided financial aid to desegregating schools, extended the life of the Civil Rights Commission for four more years, outlawed federal funds for educations institutions or programs practicing discrimination, outlawed employment and union discrimination, required gathering census data by race in some areas, prevented federal courts from sending a civil rights case back to state or local courts, established the Community Relations Service (CRS) to arbitrate local race problems and provided right of jury trial in any case that arose from any section of the act.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

allowed federal registrars to replace state officials in areas in which less than 50% of the adult population had voted in the previous general election. It gave them the power to suspend all literacy and similar discriminatory tests, and register to vote those citizens who were otherwise qualified to vote.

The Civil Rights Act of 1968

         was passed in wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

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