“The Lobby of the House of Representatives at Washington during the Passage of the Civil Rights Bill”

Wood engraving
Harper’s Weekly, April 28, 1866.

After emancipation, Black Washingtonians demanded the rights of citizenship and a part in civil life in the national capital. They attended Congressional sessions where Republicans argued for their rights. This illustration of the lobby of the House of Representatives portrayed in the foreground a Black man lobbying for the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Passed after Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson’s veto on April 9, 1866, the Act guaranteed the protection of the law to all U.S. citizens and represented a hallmark achievement of the Republican Congress.