In what came to be called the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was
A) declared constitutional due to the ruling that whether public facilities should be segregated was a matter of federal law only and did not rest with the states.
B) upheld because white supremacists had little influence on matters of state law and tended to only discriminate against African Americans behind the scenes.
C) declared unconstitutional due to the ruling that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments did not give Congress the authority to pass laws dealing with racial discrimination.
D) endorsed by the Democratic party as a means to help end racial discrimination in the South and bring blacks and whites together to help rebuild the economy.
E) replaced by a new version of the Civil Rights Act that gave stronger protections to African Americans and ensured them the right to vote.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Cases of 1883 declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional. The court ruled that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments did not give Congress the authority to pass laws dealing with private acts of racial discrimination. This decision effectively ended efforts to achieve equal rights for African Americans until the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century.

In What Came to Be Called the Civil Rights Cases