Civil Rights Act of 1866:
“Rosetta Stone” of 14th Amendment
The Heart of the Promissory Note
(Long Version: Italics, bold,
underline, increase in font size emphasis – mine) An Act to protect all Persons
in the and furnish the Means of their
Vindication.
This led to the drafting of the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing those civil rights into perpetuity. The Civil Rights Act of 1866,
passed by one vote over President Andrew Johnson’s veto,
granted full citizenship to all persons born on American soil, except
Native Americans
Special Note:
The
President of the
Section. 1The
Essence of the Act …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. See Commentary > Section. 2.Stern Warning To Government
Officials Commentary > Section. 3 Power of The and if any suit or prosecution, civil or criminal, has been or shall be commenced in any State court, against any such person, for any cause whatsoever, or against any officer, civil or military, or other person, for any arrest or imprisonment, trespasses, or wrongs done or committed by virtue or under color of authority derived from this act or the act establishing a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees, and all acts amendatory thereof, or for refusing to do any act upon the ground that it would be inconsistent with this act, such defendant shall have the right to remove such cause for trial to the proper district or circuit court in the manner prescribed by the “Act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases,” approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and all act amendatory thereof. The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters hereby conferred on the district and circuit courts of the United States shall be exercised and enforced in conformity with the laws of the United States, so far as such laws are suitable to carry the same into effect; …but in all cases where such laws are not adapted to
the object, or are deficient in the provisions necessary to furnish
suitable remedies and punish offences against law, the common law, as
modified and changed by the constitution and statutes of the State
wherein the court having jurisdiction of the cause, civil or criminal,
is held, so far as the same is not inconsistent with the
Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be extended to and
govern said courts in the trial and disposition of such cause, and, if
of a criminal nature, in the infliction of punishment on the party found
guilty. The Courts and Officers of the Act And with a view to affording reasonable protection to all persons in their constitutional rights of equality before the law, without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, and to the prompt discharge of the duties of this act, it shall be the duty of the circuit courts of the United States and the superior courts of the Territories of the United States, from time to time, to increase the number of commissioners, so as to afford a speedy and convenient means for the arrest and examination of persons charged with a violation of this act; …and such commissioners are hereby authorized and
required to exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred
on them by this act,
…and the same duties with regard to offences created
by this act, as they are authorized by law to
exercise with regard to other offences against the laws of the United
States. Military Enforcement of the Act …and should any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such warrant or other process when tendered, or to sue all proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars, to the use of the person upon whom the accused is alleged to have committed the offence. And the better to enable the said commissioners to execute their duties * faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the Constitution of the United States and the requirements of this act, they are hereby authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, in writing, under their hands, any one or more suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by them in the lawful performance of their respective duties; …and the persons so appointed to execute any warrant or process as aforesaid shall have authority to summon and call to their aid the bystanders or posse comitatus of the proper county, or such portion of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, as may be necessary to the performance of the duty with which they are charged, and to insure a faithful observance of the clause of the Constitution which prohibits slavery, in conformity with the provisions of this act; and said warrants shall run and be executed by said officers anywhere in the State or Territory within which they are issued. Commentary >
Apprehension of Rebel Assistants …or any person or persons lawfully assisting him or
them, from arresting any person for whose apprehension such warrant or
process may have been issued, or shall rescue or attempt to rescue such
person from the custody of the officer, other person or persons, or
those lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested pursuant to the
authority herein given and declared, or shall aid, abet, or assist any
person so arrested as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from
the custody of the officer or other person legally authorized as
aforesaid, or shall harbor or conceal any person for whose arrest a
warrant or process shall have been issued as aforesaid, …so as to prevent his discovery and arrest after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant has been issued for the apprehension of such personal, shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, by indictment and conviction before the district court of the United States for the district in which said offence may have been committed, or before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the organized Territories of the United States. Commentary > Financial Compensation For Officers and Courts
of the Act The person or persons authorized to execute the
process to be issued by such commissioners for the arrest of offenders
against the provisions of this act shall be
entitled to a fee of five dollars for each person he or they may arrest
and take before any such commissioner as aforesaid, with such other fees
as may be deemed reasonable by such commissioner for such other
additional services as may be necessarily performed by him or them, …such as attending at the examination, keeping the prisoner in custody, and providing him with food and lodging during his detention, and until the final determination of such commissioner, and in general for performing such other duties as may be required in the premises; …such fees to be made up in conformity with the fees
usually charged by the officers of the courts of justice within the
proper district or county, as near as may be practicable, and paid out
of the Treasury of the United States on the certificate of the judge of
the district within which the arrest is made, and to be recoverable from
the defendant as part of the judgment in case of conviction. ·
Commentary
Fees
to apprehending officers of violators of the Act The Special Powers of the President …and it shall be the duty of every judge or other
officer, when any such requisition shall be received by him, to attend
at the place and for the time therein designated. Powers of the President, Commander In Chief
Commentary:
·
The President must have “reason to
believe”, which if he doesn’t We the People can expect to audience with
him for such purposes that he may act accordingly The President
and The
·
As marshals, agents of the Freedman’s
Bureau, and other officers specially appointed by him, the President, as
Commander In Chief is authorized to employ any or all of the The Power of the Supreme Court
Commentary:
·
The Supreme does not deliberate the validity of the Act, but rather
demands its enforcement by the enforcers. SCHUYLER COLFAX, LA FAYETTE S. FOSTER, In the Senate of the The President of the United States having returned to the Senate, in which it originated, the bill entitled “An act to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their vindication,” with his objections thereto, the Senate proceeded, in pursuance of the Constitution, to reconsider the same; and, Resolved, That the said bill do pass, two-thirds of the Senate agreeing to pass the same. Attest: J.W. Forney,
The House of Representatives having proceeded, in pursuance of the Constitution, to reconsider the bill entitled “An act to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their vindication,” returned to the Senate by the President of the United States, with his objections, and sent by the Senate to the House of Representatives, with the message of the President returning the bill: Resolved, That the bill do pass, two-thirds of the House of Representatives agreeing to pass the same. Attest: Edward McPherson, Clerk, by
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