Page:Race distinctions in American Law (IA racedistinctions00stepiala).pdf/141

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  • ernment was thereby declared impotent to secure for Negroes

equality of accommodations in public places. Thus the burden, as has been said before, was thrown upon the States. Many of the States outside the South responded by adopting bills which practically copied the Civil Rights Bill of 1875. The following is a list of the States that have such Civil Rights Bills with the dates of their adoption and amendments: Connecticut,[31] 1884 and 1905; Iowa,[32] 1884 and 1892; New Jersey,[33] 1884; Ohio,[34] 1884 and 1894; Colorado,[35] 1885 and 1895; Illinois,[36] 1885; Indiana,[37] 1885; Massachusetts,[38] 1885, 1893, and 1895; Michigan,[39] 1885; Minnesota,[40] 1885, 1897, and 1899; Nebraska,[41] 1885 and 1893; Rhode Island,[42] 1885; New York,[43] 1893 and 1895; Pennsylvania,[44] 1887; Washington,[45] 1890; Wisconsin,[46] 1895; and California,[47] 1897. The Kansas[48] bill has already been considered.

A clearer idea of what the various State statutes mean and how they differ from the Civil Rights Bill of 1875 may be got from the accompanying table. The list contains the names of places where all citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude are guaranteed equality of accommodation. It will be noticed that none of the Southern States have Civil Rights Bills and, therefore, depend upon the courts to determine the rights of citizens in public places, and in addition the following States have no such statute: Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.