Civil Rights Act of 1866
Videos
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. It was mainly intended, in the wake of the Ame
Mural of the passage of the act
Lyman Trumbull
Videos
Lyman Trumbull was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who represented the state of Illinois in the United States Senate from 1855 to 1873. Trumbull was a leading abolitionist attorney and key p
Civil Rights Act of 1866
…or involuntary servitude." The act accomplished these three primary objectives. The author of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was United States Senator Lyman Trumbull. Congressman James F. Wilson summarized what he considered to be the purpose of the act as follows, when he introduced the legislation in the House of…
Trumbull c. 1870
As a young man, Trumbull relocated from Connecticut to Illinois, where his home in Alton is now a National Historic Site.
In 1855, Trumbull overcame Abraham Lincoln to win his first election as United States Senator. Lincoln endorsed Trumbull for the seat, and they became allies and co-leaders of the new Republican Party of Illinois.
Illustration of Senator Trumbull motioning on May 6, 1868, for the arrest of disorderly spectators at the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson