1870: Enforcement Act of 1870
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On March 31, 1870 the Enforcement Act of 1870 was approved by Congress. As the first of three enforcement acts, its goal was “to enforce the rights of citizens of the United States to vote in the several States of the Union, and for other purposes.” [1] The first Enforcement Act (1870) and the second (1871) were passed in order to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment. A columnist of the Washington paper elaborates on the amendment’s lack of authority: “everybody knows that in many states the constitutional provision, standing by itself, isn’t worth a straw.” [2] Congress also passed the Second Enforcement Act in February 1871 to ensure justice of voting measures in regards to fair registration and elections. As a result of these two acts and the Ku Klux Act of ’71, many people were brought to trial for illegal acts, but few were convicted. Numerous southern whites and blacks refused to testify in courts because many whites did not agree with the Enforcement Act and blacks were afraid to bear witness against whites. [3] After 1874, the Enforcement Acts basically disintegrated and the amount of hearings significantly decreased. Perhaps it was a result of the Panic of 1873 and “Southern intransigence and Northern apathy.” [4] Even though Congress attempted to enforce equality and justice at the polls, after a while, Southern whites and even blacks grew tired of heavy-handed legislation, and in the end, all were ready for a change in federal governmental policies.
Related Events: 1870: Ratification of 15th Amendment; 1871: Second Enforcement Act; 1871- Klan Act
Footnotes: [1] quoted in Chicago, Illinois, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 1872 [2] DWB, "Washington", The Independent (1848-1921),22,(May 1870), 1 [3] Everette Swinney, "Enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment, (1870-1877)," Journal of Southern History, 28, (May, 1962), 202-218 [JSTOR: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4642%28196205%2928%3A2%3C202%3AETFA1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y] [4] Ibid,; 202-218.
Sources: [1] Everette Swinney, "Enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment, (1870-1877)," Journal of Southern History, 28, (May, 1962), 202-218 [JSTOR: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4642%28196205%2928%3A2%3C202%3AETFA1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y] [2] Robert Selph Henry, The Story of Reconstruction, (New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1951) [3] DWB, "Washington", The Independent (1848-1921),22,(May 1870), 1 [4] Chicago, Illinois, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 1872