Grant

Even though the founder of the Ku Klux Klan had called upon the group to disband in 1869, in 1871 it still remained active in many parts of the South and was growing increasingly bold— terrorizing and intimidating black citizens who attemped to exercise their newly won civil rights. In early 1871 President U.S. Grant had had enough. Determined to put a stop to the “disguised night marauders,” he called upon Congress to grant him extraordinary powers to deal with the terrorism. The Republican-dominated Congress acted quickly, passing what came to be called the “Force Act of 1871” shortly after Grant’s request.

The Force Act gave the President the authority to suspend habeas corpus and to use the federal military to break up any conspiracies to deny citizens equal protection of the law. Using his newly acquired authority Grant acted swiftly and aggressively. In South Carolina, where Klan violence was particularly prevalent, Grant declared that “a condition of lawlessness” existed. He declared martial law, suspended the writ of habeas corpus in nine counties, and had all suspected Klansmen arrested. Across the South, thousands of people were arrested. Tried in federal courts, where juries were often predominantly black, hundreds were convicted and imprisoned. The Klan was crushed, virtually disappearing for nearly fifty years.

The Third Force Act, also sometimes called the Civil Rights Act of 1871 or the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, was signed into law by President U.S. Grant on April 20, 1871, one hundred fifty two years ago today. Provisions of the law are still used to remedy civil rights violations today.

The photograph of President Grant was taken by Matthew Brady in 1870.