U.S. v. Cruikshank Guts Federal Power to Protect Black Rights

The Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876, argued 1875) arose from the Colfax Massacre prosecutions. The Court ruled that the 14th Amendment only prohibited state action, not private violence, stripping federal authority to prosecute white supremacist attacks on Black citizens. The decision effectively ended federal prosecution of Klan violence and emboldened white paramilitary groups across the South.