What was Section 1983 of Title 42 of the U.S. Code originally enacted to enforce?

• A. First Amendment right to free speech
• B. Fourteenth Amendment rights
• C. Fifth Amendment rights
• D. Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of rights to newly freed slaves

Answer: (D)

This statute was created to give individuals a remedy when state officials deprive people of constitutional protections, with its original focus on the rights of newly freed slaves under the Fourteenth Amendment. During Reconstruction, Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1871 to curb white supremacist violence and to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees of equal protection and due process against state action. Section 1983 then provided a private civil action against state actors who, under color of state law, violated these rights. That original purpose is captured by the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of rights to newly freed slaves, making that option the best fit. The other amendments do not reflect the statute’s original target in enforcing state action against former slaves.