Description
In what would become known as the Colfax Massacre, on April 13, 1873, a riot broke out in Grant Parish, Louisiana between armed whites and African Americans. In the end, over 100 African Americans were killed in cold blood. Two African-American men, Levi Nelson and Alexander Tillman, were lynched for attempting to vote against the wishes of white neighbors. Seventeen members of the violent white mob, including William J. Cruikshank, were brought to trial for 16 violations of the 1870 Enforcement Act, which made it a felony to deprive anyone of his federal civil rights. In its decision, the Supreme Court sided with Cruikshank, ruling that the 14th Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses applied only to state action, and not to violations of civil rights by individual citizens. In effect, the civil rights of African Americans would need to be protected only by state legislatures and courts, which in the South meant no protection at all. In addition to interpreting the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, the Supreme Court also emphasized previous interpretations of the 15th Amendment, stating that the amendment did not create the right to vote, but did create "the right of exemption from the prohibited discrimination" on account of race, color or previous servitude.
Full Transcript of United States v. Cruikshank et al.
Transcribed Excerpts from United States v. Cruikshank et al.
Source-Dependent Questions
Questions Relating to Excerpt, Paragraphs 1-3
- What, according to the Supreme Court's decision, was the general rule for understanding the extent of any government's power? Specifically, what was the source of the national government's power and any rights of national citizenship?
Questions Relating to Excerpt, Paragraphs 4-5
- Which level of government was responsible for protecting the natural rights of its citizens? Based on the words used by it, how would the Supreme Court have responded to a citizen claiming his rights were not being protected by this level of government?
- Paraphrase the fifth section of this excerpt. According to this passage, what power did the 14th Amendment give to the national government? What power did it not give to the national government?
Questions Relating to Excerpt, Paragraph 6
- What responsibility did the national government have under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment? How could this reactive role impact the rights of African Americans living in southern states dominated by white governments?
Questions Relating to Excerpt, Paragraph 7
- Where did the right to vote come from? What right was created in the 15th Amendment and which government was given the responsibility for protecting that right?
- What type of discrimination was prohibited by the 15th Amendment? How could a southern state follow the text of the amendment, yet still reduce African-American voter participation?
Citation Information
Waite, Morrison R. "U.S. Reports: United States v. Cruikshank et al., 92 U.S. 542 (1876)," 1876. Courtesy of Library of Congress