Justice Harlan's Lone Dissent in Civil Rights Cases

Former slaveholder Justice John Marshall Harlan delivered a solo dissent in the 1883 Civil Rights Cases, arguing the 13th Amendment authorized Congress to abolish all 'badges and incidents of slavery' including private discrimination, and that the majority left Black Americans 'practically at the mercy of corporations and individuals.' Harlan's dissent became foundational to 20th-century civil rights jurisprudence.