Richard Harvey Cain (1825–1887) ended his days as a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, but he is best known for his career as a South Carolina congressman during Reconstruction. His “All That We Ask“ speech was one of two that he made in support of what became the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The legislation had been first introduced by Senator Charles Sumner and Congressman Benjamin Butler, both of Massachusetts, in 1870. The original all-encompassing bill would have prohibited segregation or discrimination in public accommodations, transportation, jury service, public schools, and churches. It languished in the Senate for five years until Sumner, on his deathbed, begged that it be passed. His plea energized the bill’s supporters, and it was approved by the Senate—minus, however, its provision banning discrimination in churches.