According to the ruling, the 14th Amendment cannot be used in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 because it only protects citizens from discrimination by the state government, not private businesses. The focus of the 14th Amendment is on state action and does not extend to actions taken by private entities.
Read this excerpt from the Supreme Court decision that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional. Then, answer the question.
According to the ruling, why can't the 14th Amendment be used in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1875?
Segregation laws are under state jurisdiction, not federal.
It only abolished slavery, but made no mention of discrimination.
It only protects citizens from discrimination by the state government, not private businesses.
The 13th Amendment relates to slavery and involuntary servitude (which it abolishes); . . . yet such legislative power extends only to the subject of slavery and its incidents; and the denial of equal accommodations in inns, public conveyances and places of public amusement (which is forbidden by the sections in question), imposes no badge of slavery or involuntary servitude upon the party, but at most, infringes rights which are protected from State aggression by the 14th Amendment.
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