Dashed left edge = started before April 1866 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond April 1866
Events in April 1866 1
1866Civil Rights Act of 1866US Congress overrides Andrew Johnson's vetoThe act declared that all persons born in the United States, regardless of race, were citizens entitled to equal rights under the law. It was the first major federal civil rights legislation in American history and a direct response to Southern Black Codes.