1866 — House Reaffirms Civil Rights Act of 1866

On June 13, 1866, the U.S. House of Representatives reaffirmed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 following President Andrew Johnson’s continued resistance. Originally passed over Johnson’s veto in April, the act declared all persons born in the U.S. (excluding Native Americans) as citizens entitled to equal protection under the law. June 13 is notable because Congress pushed forward with the 14th Amendment on this same date, embedding those rights into the Constitution. This was a turning point in Reconstruction policy, establishing the federal government as the guarantor of civil rights for newly freed African Americans. The reaffirmation was a rejection of presidential obstruction and an assertion of Congressional authority to protect Black citizenship in the post–Civil War era.