Civil Rights Repeal Act 28 Stat. 36 (1894)

• Author: Theodore Eisenberg
• Pages: 415

Page 415

From the middle of the 1860s to 1875, Congress was favorably disposed toward ANTIDISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION and even enacted some such measures over presidential veto. But many of the provisions enacted encountered restrictive interpretations to outright invalidation in the Supreme Court. The Repeal Act of 1894 symbolizes formal reconvergence of congressional and judicial attitudes towards CIVIL RIGHTS statutes.

In 1892 the Democratic party, for the first time after the CIVIL WAR, gained control of both houses of Congress and the presidency. In the Repeal Act of 1894, which repealed portions of the Enforcement Act of 1870 and the FORCE ACT OF 1871, Congress eliminated most civil rights measures that had not already been undermined by the Court. The repealed provisions had provided for federal control of federal elections through the appointment of federal election officials, a control method revived in the CIVIL RIGHTS ACTS of 1960 and 1964 and the VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.

THEODORE EISENBERG

(1986)

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