LYMAN TRUMBULL
Eight years and a Civil War later, he had changed his mind and was the sponsor of the Civil Rights Act of 1866—the first Federal civil rights law in America. See {587711}.
Trumbull was the sponsor of the bill. Eight years earlier he had not been an advocate of civil rights {587696} but his views changed considerably over time and over the Civil War.
America is almost unique among nations in that the methods of elections are different in each state, but at the time even the right to vote was uniquely controlled by the states—even for Federal officials. Even in modern times individual states have controlled the right to vote in many instances. For example in some states convicted felons may not vote while in others they can.
Lyman Trumbull was a United States Senator from Illinois and the co-author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
