I read the letter “Fable of Reconstruction.” I think this person keeps mentioning 1875 because the Republicans in Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875. This law outlawed segregation in public places except in public schools.
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1883 because the court said that this federal law exceeded the Congress’ right to regulate interstate commerce.
President Truman passed an executive order that stated blacks were to be treated equally in the military in 1948. It was President Eisenhower who ordered the military to be racially intergrated in 1954.
Michael Pree
St. Louis