The Civil Rights Act of 1875: Signed by President Grant (whose reputation is thankfully receiving a positive revision based on his admirable record of trying to continue Reconstruction policies aiding freed slaves), this legislation stated that "all persons regardless of race or color . . . shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement." In its original form, schools were also included, but taken out at the last moment. At the same time, that this legislation was proposed and enacted is impressive, in good part because its provisions challenged racism in the North, not just the legacies of slavery in the South.
Although enacted, the Civil Rights Act of 1875's enforcement was weak at best. That is, until it reached the Supreme Court in 1883 in a series of cases dubbed the "Civil Rights Cases." This suite of suits eventually came down to an 8-1 vote which overturned the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The basis for it being declared unconstitutional was the Act's scope, which applied not only to state government actions, but those of private actors. Writing for the majority, Justice Joseph Bradley wrote that, "the wrongful act of an individuals . . . is simply a private wrong."
The overturning of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 helped facilitate the creation of Jim Crow policies in the Southern states by allowing for segregationist policies to be created in the private sphere. Furthermore, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was the last federal civil rights legislation passed until the Civil Rights Act of 1957. While the great triumph of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 contained numerous sections expanding far beyond the 1875 law (such as sections on employment and the inclusion of women), if one examines the language on access to accommodations, the victory of 1964 essentially restored what was achieved almost a century prior.
To be blunt, the Court's ruling in this case was an important piece of thrusting back the fight for legal equality for all citizens by almost one hundred years.