Civil Rights Act 1875 (8th)

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT AND IDEAS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1875 You will be reading background information, the text of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, and the outcome of the Act. This information will help you better understand the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Congress Passes Civil Rights Act of 1875 Charles Sumner was an ardent abolitionist and civil rights activist from Massachusetts. He and fellow congressman, Thaddeus Stevens, were two of the Radical Republicans that forced through Reconstruction measures after the Civil War. He co-sponsored the Civil Rights Act of 1875 with former Union general, Benjamin Butler, but died before it passed in Congress. His last words were, “save my civil rights bill.” According to the text above Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens were Radical Republicans. Which statement below best describes who Radical Republicans were? Radical Republicans were former members of Confederate forces who began the terrorist organization called the Ku Klux Klan. Radical Republicans led efforts after the war to establish civil rights for former slaves and fully implement emancipation (freedom). Radical Republicans were Western legislators who believed the future of the United States was best served by creating a separate area in the West for emancipated (free) slaves to live in peace separate from whites in the Eastern U. S. Radical Republicans were white southerners who believed in helping with the Freedman Bureau, building schools in the South, and allowing women the right to vote. TEXT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1875 Read the following text of Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1875. After reading the text complete the matching below. An Act to Protect All Citizens in Their Civil and Legal Rights. Whereas it is essential to just government we recognize the equality of all men before the law, and hold that it is the duty of government in its dealings with the people to mete out equal and exact justice to all, of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or political; and it being the appropriate object of legislation to enact great fundamental principles into law: Therefore, Be it enacted, That all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement; subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of every race and color, regardless of any previous condition of servitude. Match the word from the reading with correct definition. Use context from the text to choose the correct definition. equality Being equal in rights regardless of color or race accommodations A building or room where someone may stay public conveyances Transporting of people on some type of public transportation (boat, train, etc.) mete out equal justice Dispense justice or punishment Based on the text from Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act; which answer below best describes the purpose of the Act? The Act was designed to keep black and white Americans separated so they would not fight. The Act was designed to provide an opportunity for enslaved Americans to earn their freedom by working in public transportation. The Act's purpose was to make sure that all Americans regardless of color or race were given equal treatment and allowed to access any public buildings or transportation. The Act's purpose was to give control of public transportation to Freedman who needed the business so they could make money and take care of themselves. READ SECTION 2 OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTSection 2. That any persons who shall violate the foregoing section by denying to any citizen, except for reasons by law applicable to citizens of every race and color, and regardless of any previous condition of servitude, the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges in said section enumerated, or by aiding or inciting such denial, shall, for every such offense, forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars to the person aggrieved thereby . . . and shall also, for every such offense, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, or shall be imprisoned not less than thirty days nor more than one year. . . . WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ARE PUNISHMENTS FOR BREAKING THE LAW?CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY $500 DOLLARS PAYED TO THE PERSON WHO WAS AGGRIEVED LOSS OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP IMPRISONED NOT LESS THAN 30 DAYS AND NOT MORE THAN ONE YEAR FINED FROM $500 TO $1000 REMOVED FROM A STATE AND BANISHED TO THE WESTERN U.S.