Sam Rayburn Museum

05/29/2026

6. Fourteenth Amendment Part 1, 1868

The Fourteenth Amendment is one of three Reconstruction Amendments ratified in the five years immediately following the Civil War that were aimed at ensuring the freedom and civil rights of formerly enslaved persons. The Fourteenth Amendment is considered one of the most significant because it addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law. Although it faced heavy opposition, especially in the South, its passage was assisted by the requirement that former Confederate states ratify the amendment to regain congressional representation. The Fourteenth Amendment, especially the first section, is also one of the most argued parts of the Constitution, forming the foundation for several landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Roe v. Wade (1973).

Map courtesy of Discover Stafford Museum, Stafford, VA

05/25/2026

The Museum will be closed today 5/25/26

05/15/2026

5. District of Columbia Suffrage Act, 1867

The District of Columbia Suffrage Act granted voting rights to all males over the age of 21 in the District of Columbia. The privilege was denied to "welfare or charity cases, those under guardianship, those convicted of major crimes and those who had voluntarily sheltered Confederate troops or spies during the Civil War.” The law had no race-based restrictions, making it the first law passed in the U.S. guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote in public elections.

05/06/2026

Museum Hours for Saturday, May 9, 2026 will be 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
Thank you

05/05/2026

05/05/2026

04/29/2026

4. Civil Rights Act of 1866, 1866 and 1870

Passed after the Civil War, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was intended to protect the civil rights of African Americans. It’s the first federal law that defined eligibility for citizenship as anyone “born in the United States…without regard to race, color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude.” The act stated all citizens share the same civil rights and declared it unlawful to deprive anyone of those rights. There was concern that Congress didn’t have the constitutional power to enforce the law or that future Congresses could repeal or alter it. As a result, similar provisions and language were used in the proposed Fourteenth Amendment. After the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, Congress re-enacted the 1866 law as Section 18 of the Enforcement Act of 1870.

“Civil Rights Act, 1866,” oil on canvas, Allyn Cox, 1973-1974. This mural is in the U.S. Capitol Building, as part of the “Hall of Capitols” corridor mural series that features 16 murals painted by Allyn Cox. Located in the eastern north-south corridor of the House wing, the murals are part of a larger set of murals painted by Cox is chronicle important milestones, buildings and people in early U.S. history. For more information visit, https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/cox-corridors-murals.

“Civil Rights Act, 1866,” oil on canvas, Allyn Cox, 1973-1974. Image courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol of the United States.

04/18/2026

04/18/2026

Join our spring class as they present the charming and fantastical WINTERS TALE. There will be a full on campus performance in the Calhoun courtyard before heading out to the Winedale barn for the weekend. PAY WHAT YOU CAN TICKETS LINKED IN THE BIO!