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Civil Rights Cases of 1883

Definition

The Civil Rights Cases of 1883 were a group of five cases consolidated into one issue by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declared that the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited only government violations of civil rights, not denials by individuals or private organizations.

Analogy

Imagine you're playing a team sport like basketball and there's a rule stating players can't foul each other. But then it's decided this rule only applies during official games, not when you're practicing or playing casually with friends. This is similar to how the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment - it applied to government actions but not those by private entities.

Related terms

Fourteenth Amendment: An amendment to the U.S Constitution adopted in 1868 that grants citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and slaves who had been emancipated after the American Civil War.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): A landmark decision by the U.S Supreme Court upholding racial segregation under "separate but equal" doctrine.

Jim Crow Laws: These were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in Southern states following Reconstruction until they were overruled by federal legislation in mid-20th century.