Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 Authorizes Suspension of Habeas Corpus

The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 went further than previous enforcement legislation, authorizing the President to suspend habeas corpus and use military force against conspiracies to deprive citizens of constitutional rights. President Grant invoked it in nine South Carolina counties in October 1871, suspending habeas corpus and arresting hundreds of KKK members. Federal prosecutions under the Act succeeded in temporarily suppressing KKK violence and produced significant convictions — but the Supreme Court's ruling in US v. Cruikshank (1876) gutted the Act by holding that the federal government could not protect citizens from privately organized violence.