"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... shall have the same right... to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence." — Civil Rights Act of 1866
Concerns about the act's constitutionality led Congress to:
- A
Restrict its application to states under military occupation
- B
Refer the law to the Supreme Court for an advisory opinion
- C
Repeal the act and replace it with a weaker compromise version
- Dcheck_circle
Embed its principles in the Fourteenth Amendment to secure them against repeal
Explanation
Republicans feared a future Congress might repeal the act or that courts might strike it down, so they constitutionalized its core principles in the Fourteenth Amendment's birthright citizenship and equal protection clauses.