Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History & Culture Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva's Black History

Record Detail

Record #5 from Voting Rights Laws and Legislation in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia

Law Name The Civil Rights Act of 1866
Date Passed April 9th, 1866
State federal
Classification law
Description "Be it enacted . . . , That all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right, in every State and Territory in the United States, to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding"

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[Author (if known)], Voting Rights Laws and Legislation in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, 1866, Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.

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