This Day in Republican History 03/11/05
March 11, 1874
Death of Republican U.S. Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA), author of bill that would become Civil Rights Act of 1875; on his deathbed, said “You must take care of the civil rights bill, my bill. Don’t let it fail.”
The bill did not fail. It was passed despite overwhelming Democrat opposition. However, a Democrat-controlled Supreme Court struck it down eight years later.