apr 1, 1871 - Ku Klux Klan Act

Description:

Authorized the president to use federal prosecutions and military force to suppress conspiracies to deprive citizens of the right to vote and enjoy the equal protection of the law


Enforcement Laws: Acts passed in Congress in 1870 and signed by President U. S. Grant that were designed to protect freedmen’s rights under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Authorizing federal prosecutions, military intervention, and martial law to suppress terrorist activity, the Enforcement Laws largely succeeded in shutting down Klan activities.

result: southern republicans gain morale but revealed how dependent they were on Washington


-hard to prosecute klansmen with all white juries and unsympathetic federal judges and prosecutions dropped off in 1872

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