Civil Rights Act - Federal Legislation

Federal Legislation

  • Civil Rights Act of 1866, extending the rights of emancipated slaves by stating that any person born in the United States regardless of race is a U.S. citizen.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, prohibiting ethnic violence against blacks.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1875, prohibiting discrimination in "public accommodations"; found unconstitutional in 1883 as Congress could not regulate conduct of individuals.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1957, establishing the Civil Rights Commission.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1960, establishing federal inspection of local voter registration polls.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin by federal and state governments as well as some public places.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibiting discrimination in sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, creed, and national origin.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1991, providing the right to trial by jury on discrimination claims and introducing the possibility of emotional distress damages, while limiting the amount that a jury could award.

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    “The laboring man and the trade-unionist, if I understand him, asks only equality before the law. Class legislation and unequal privilege, though expressly in his favor, will in the end work no benefit to him or to society.”
    —William Howard Taft (1857–1930)