Civil Rights Cases (1883) were a series of five cases that were decided en bloc. Despite the post-Civil War Reconstruction Period, the Court in an 8-1 decision held that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was not constitutional under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments. This set the tone for the legality of the Jim Crow era of segregation for African Americans.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 guaranteed African Americans equal protection rights in public places such as theaters, hotels and trains and imposed retribution against owners of private businesses that did not comply with the law. In 1883, the Supreme Court took up five cases all filed by African Americans claiming refusal of access to hotels, theaters, restaurants and trains -- access they were entitled to under the Civil Rights Act.

Justice Joseph Bradley, who authored the majority opinion, said that neither the Thirteenth or Fourteenth Amendments gave Congress the power to enforce laws dealing with racial discrimination by private citizens or businesses. Justice John Marshall Harlan established himself as the "Great Dissenter" by writing the sole dissenting opinion in the case. In his dissent, he said the Court's decision was decided on "grounds too narrow and artificial" and felt the federal government had a duty to protect citizens from actions that stripped them of their rights

Explainers