Ku Klux Klan Act

The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 (also known as the Civil Rights Act) was one of three laws passed as part of the U.S. government's attempts to “reconstruct” the Southern states following the Civil War. The act itself, as indicated by the name, was directed at the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was a series of loosely affiliated gangs who used violence to impose their agenda on the state governments established following the Civil War by killing freed slaves and those supporting them. The act, aiming particularly at conspiracies, made it a federal offense to deny a person his or her civil rights. With the new legislation, federal law enforcement vigorously prosecuted Klan members. Five years later, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated portions of the law, contributing to its subsequent disuse. Although only used for a short time, the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 served as the model for more lasting civil rights laws and established precedent for federal intervention into crime problems states could or would not address.

Following the Civil War, the federal government had to decide how to handle the former Confederate states. Although the Union had won the war, the former Confederate states did not abandon their beliefs about slavery and their distaste for equality with freed slaves. In some parts of the South, organized resistance arose to Republican officeholders, who had supported emancipation of the slaves and supported equality between African Americans and the former slave owners. The resistance consisted of White, former slave-holding Democrats who sought to keep the freed slaves from exercising their newfound voting rights. To keep the freed slaves from voting, these organized groups resorted to violence and intimidation. One particular group, the Ku Klux Klan, was exceptionally violent.

The Republican state governments proved unable to control the violence and sought assistance from [Page 438]the federal government. The Army could not intervene because of legal restrictions. As a result, Congress adopted three “Enforcement Acts” so that federal law enforcement could intervene in the situation. These acts were derived from the enforcement clauses of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, passed following the Civil War's conclusion. Each succeeding act provided more enforcement power for the federal government. The first act, passed in May 1870, criminalized interference with voting rights. The second act, passed in February 1871, provided for federal supervision of voter registration and elections. The third act, passed in May 1871 and named the Ku Klux Klan Act, criminalized conspiracy to prevent people from holding office, serving on juries, enjoying equal protection of the law, and voting. It also permitted use of the army to enforce the law, suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in counties in a state of insurrection, and removal of Klan members from both petit and grand juries.

Enforcement by the Department of Justice began immediately. President Ulysses Grant sent the military to the various Southern states, particularly nine counties in South Carolina where the violence was most prevalent. The military both protected freed slaves and Radical Republicans and investigated the Ku Klux Klan. The information obtained from locals about the Klan served as the basis for mass arrests and indictments. Attorney General Amos Akerman coordinated the federal efforts with assistance from the local U.S. attorneys and U.S. marshals. In the years following the enactment of the Ku Klux Klan Act, there were more than 3,000 indictments filed across the South, with the most coming from South Carolina and northern Mississippi. Ultimately, because of the flood of cases that entered the system, most cases were dismissed. Of the 600 cases tried, more than 67% were convicted at trial. Sentences for those convicted varied widely from small fines to 5 years in prison.

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