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=Post Civil War Event=

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The Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed on March 1866. In short, it gave more rights to the freed slaves that resulted after the end of the American Civil War. President Johnson viewed this bill when it was givien to him and vetoed it. He believed that blacks were not qualified for U.S. citizenship and that the bill would “operate in favor of the colored and against the white race." However, the Republicans of Congress overrode the presidential veto on April 9, 1866. The act announced that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, with no regard to race, color, or previous condition. They could, as citizens, make and enforce contracts, sue, get sued, give evidence in court, and inherit, purchase, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property. Anyone who denied these new rights to former slaves were guilty of misdemeanor and upon conviction, they could be charged a fine of up to $1,000 and/or be imprisoned for up to a year.

Mark Twain’s __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn__ involves references that foreshadow the creation of this event. In writing the story of a runaway slave looking for freedom, he is able to describe hopes and dreams of a black slave trapped by the south who eventually enjoy will come to enjoy the freedoms they wished for themselves or their descendants.

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