Second Enforcement Act

Enforcement Act of 1871
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to amend an Act approved May thirty-one, eighteen hundred and seventy, entitled "An Act to enforce the Rights of Citizens of the United States to vote in several States of this Union, and for other Purposes."
NicknamesCivil Rights Act of 1871, Second Ku Klux Klan Act
Enacted bythe 41st United States Congress
Citations
Statutes at Large16 Stat. 433–440
Codification
Acts amendedEnforcement Act of 1870
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 2634 by John C. Churchill (RNY) on January 9, 1871
  • Committee consideration by House Judiciary
  • Passed the House on February 15, 1871 (144 - 64[1])
  • Passed the Senate on February 24, 1871 (39 - 10[2])
  • Signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on February 28, 1871

The Second Enforcement Act of 1871, sometimes called the Civil Rights Act of 1871 or the Second Ku Klux Klan Act, was a United States federal law. The act was the second of three Enforcement Acts passed by the United States Congress from 1870 to 1871 during the Reconstruction Era to combat attacks on the voting rights of African Americans from groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

Legislative history[edit]

Republican Representative John C. Churchill from New York introduced his bill H.R. 2634 in the 41st United States Congress. The bill was passed by Congress in February 1871 and signed into law by United States President Ulysses S. Grant on February 28, 1871.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Congressional Globe, 41st Congress, 3 session, page 1285". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  2. ^ "Congressional Globe, 41st Congress, 3 session, page 1655". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 16, 2012.