congress passed the civil rights act of 1964 under its power to
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Powers given to enforce the act were initially weak, but were supplemented during later years. Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its power to regulate interstate commerce under Article One (section 8), its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment and its duty to protect voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment.
Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Civil Rights Act of 1866, 14 Stat. 27-30, enacted April 9, 1866, was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law.[1] It was mainly intended to protect the civil rights of persons of African descent born in or brought to the U.S., in the wake of the American Civil War.[2] This legislation was enacted by Congress in 1865 but vetoed by President Andrew Johnson. In April 1866 Congress again passed the bill to support the Thirteenth Amendment. Although Johnson again vetoed it, a two-thirds majority in each chamber overcame the veto and the bill therefore became law.