The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited discrimination against African Americans in the use of public accommodations, such as hotels, theaters, and train cars. Congress based the act on the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the law. In The Civil Rights Cases, in 1883, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the law.
Why, according to the Court, was the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional?
A. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibited discrimination by the states but not by private organizations.
B. The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permitted "separate but equal " public accommodations.
C. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibited discrimination by the federal government but not by the states.
D. The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment required only "necessary and proper" public accommodations.
1 answer
A. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibited discrimination by the states but not by private organizations.
1 answer