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United States Civil Right Act (1866)

This act followed the end of the Civil War, enactment of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the beginning of the Reconstruction period. This US law was the first to define citizenship for all citizens regardless of race or color, entitling all citizens the right to legal protection. Its primary intent was to protect the civil rights of persons of African descent, either brought to or born in the US. The bill was introduced by Senate Judiciary Chair Lyman Trumbull and survived two vetoes from President Andrew Johnson when the House passed it almost unanimously.


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13th Amendment Ratified (1865)

Formally abolished slavery in the United States. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Neither slavery nor...

People v Dean (1866)

One of the first civil rights cases to be heard in Michigan concerning a mixed race black man who sought the right to vote. It was on of...

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