Civil Rights Act of 1870

E15567

The Civil Rights Act of 1870 was a U.S. federal law enacted during Reconstruction to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment by protecting African Americans’ voting rights and penalizing interference with those rights.

Aliases (1)

Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Reconstruction-era legislation
United States federal statute
aimedAtProtecting African American voters in the South
alsoKnownAs Enforcement Act of 1870
First Enforcement Act
appliesTo federal elections
state elections involving federal offices
authorizes federal prosecution of individuals who violate voting rights
federal supervision of congressional elections
constitutionalBasis Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
country United States
enactedInContextOf Reconstruction era
enactedToEnforce Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
enforcementMechanism criminal sanctions
federal court jurisdiction
federal election supervision
historicalPeriod post–American Civil War period
jurisdiction United States federal government
legalArea constitutional law
federal civil rights law
longTermImpact foundation for later federal voting rights enforcement
precedent for the Voting Rights Act of 1965
primaryPurpose penalize interference with the right to vote
protect African Americans’ voting rights
provide federal enforcement of voting rights
prohibits conspiracy to interfere with voting rights
denial of the right to vote on account of color
denial of the right to vote on account of previous condition of servitude
denial of the right to vote on account of race
use of force or intimidation to prevent voting
provides criminal penalties for interference with voting rights
federal oversight of elections in certain circumstances
relatedTo Civil Rights Act of 1866
Civil Rights Act of 1871
Enforcement Acts
Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871
strengthens enforcement of the Fifteenth Amendment
subjectMatter civil rights
election law
voting rights
targets private individuals who interfere with voting rights
state officials who deny or abridge voting rights
typeOfSanctions fines
imprisonment

Referenced by (6)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Civil Rights Act of 1870 ("Enforcement Act of 1870")
First Enforcement Act ("Enforcement Act of 1870")
First Enforcement Act
alsoKnownAs
Enforcement Acts ("Enforcement Act of 1870")
hasPart
41st United States Congress ("Enforcement Act of 1870")
passed
Civil Rights Act of 1866
precedes

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