Congress Passes Three Enforcement Acts to Combat KKK

The First Enforcement Act (May 31, 1870) made it a federal crime to interfere with 15th Amendment voting rights. A second act (Feb. 1871) provided federal election supervision. The KKK Act (April 1871) authorized prosecution of conspiracies to deprive citizens of civil rights. Together they produced hundreds of prosecutions, with federal attorneys achieving significant convictions in South Carolina.