1866
Ex parte Milligan
No. Military trial of civilians is unconstitutional where the civil courts are open and functioning, even in wartime.
Source: Opinion of the Court
The Fifteenth Amendment. Race and the right to vote
The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
ReconstructionProposed 1869Ratified February 3, 1870
- What it does
- The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
- Time to ratify
- 1 year from proposal to ratification.
- Era
- Reconstruction (1866–1877)
Around 1870. What else was in the record.
Decisions and events within six years of ratification.
1866
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Passed over President Andrew Johnson’s veto. Declares people born in the United States to be citizens and guarantees equal rights to make contracts, sue, and hold property.
Source: U.S. House of Representatives
1868
House impeaches President Andrew Johnson
The first impeachment of a President, chiefly over his removal of the Secretary of War in alleged violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The Senate acquits by one vote short of the two-thirds needed to convict.
Source: U.S. Senate
1871
Ku Klux Klan Act
The third of the Enforcement Acts lets the President use the military and suspend habeas corpus to suppress conspiracies that deprive citizens of equal protection, and creates a federal cause of action for deprivation of constitutional rights.
Source: U.S. Senate
1873
Slaughter-House Cases
No. The Privileges or Immunities Clause protects only rights of national citizenship, a narrow set, leaving most civil rights to the states.
Source: Opinion of the Court
1875
Minor v. Happersett
No. Citizenship did not carry the right to vote, and states could limit suffrage to men.
Source: Opinion of the Court