Race remained a contentious issue in America after the Civil War, and racial discrimination a fact of life for minorities. Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts sponsored the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations. Sumner said that "It is essential to just government that we recognize the equality of all men before the law, and, it is the duty of government in its dealings with the people to mete out equal and exact justice to all, of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or political." The act guaranteed that "all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, of inns, public conveyances on land and water, theaters and other places of amusement, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable...