The Civil Rights Cases of 1883 were a series of five cases that were decided by the United States Supreme Court. The cases were United States v. Stanley, 109 U.S. 3; Hall v. DeCuir, 109 U.S. 20; Virginia v. Rives, 109 U.S. 3; Robertson v. Baldwin, 109 U.S. 3; and Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303. The cases were brought to the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The Act was passed by Congress to protect the civil rights of African Americans. The Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional. The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment, which was passed after the Civil War to protect the rights of African Americans, did not give Congress the power to pass laws that would regulate private individuals and businesses. The Court also held that the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, did not give Congress the power to pass laws that would regulate private individuals and businesses. The decision in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 was a major setback for the civil rights movement. The decision limited the power of Congress to pass laws that would protect the civil rights of African Americans. The decision also limited the power of the federal government to protect the civil rights of African Americans. The decision was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court in the Civil Rights Cases of 1896.

Justice Harlan delivered the dissenting opinion in United States v. Stanley, arguing that Congress had the power to pass legislation protecting civil rights and prohibiting racial discrimination under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. He argued that this was a necessary step for Congress to take in order to protect citizens from state governments who were not taking action against discriminatory practices. Justice Harlan further stated that while it may be true that states have certain powers over their own affairs, they do not have absolute authority when it comes to matters of civil rights or race-based discrimination as these are issues which affect all citizens regardless of where they live. Furthermore, he noted that if states are allowed to continue discriminating without consequence then there will be no incentive for them to change their policies and practices which could lead to an unequal society with different levels of protection based on one's race or ethnicity.