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Founding of America
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Constitution was written
Citizenship in the United States and the States was established but had no clear rules on what exactly made someone a citizen of either. -
Pre Civil War citizenship
State and national citizenship were high controversial topics, state citizenship was important for practical purposes and gave access to the jurisdiction of the federal courts that was based on diversity of citizenship. National citizenship was viewed by some as dependent on state citizenship so that those who were considered state citizens under state law were citizens of the United States. -
Election of president Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln was elected and upon his election, his administration took the legal position that free black Americans were American Citizens. -
First session of 39th Republican Congress
The 39th Congress had its first session during a time where former confederate states formed new governments that solely benefitted whites and discriminated heavily against black Americans. -
Civil Rights Act was passed
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which stated that all people born or naturalized in the United States were considered citizens of the United States and of the state in which they lived, which meant that citizenship by birth was not dependent on race. The only textual exceptions to this were American-born persons “subject to any foreign power” and for “Indians not taxed." The Civil Rights Act also stated that all citizens of each state should have the same basic civil rights.