Force Act

At President Ulysses Grant's request, Congress passed a set of four laws in response to the terrorist acts of the Ku Klux Klan. These laws were created in 1870 and 1871 and were meant to protect blacks and Republicans from the KKK and other extremists. The most important law was the Force Act of 1870. In this act, the government banned the use of terror, force or bribery to prevent someone from voting because of their race. Other laws banned the KKK entirely and brought forth military help to enforce these laws. Eventually, KKK members were tried and thousands of Klansmen were arrested. The KKK movement had almost died within a year.