After the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) began murdering and terrorizing black Americans in the late-1860s, President Ulysses S. Grant mobilized the Justice Department and secured thousands of indictments against their leaders. In 1871, he also oversaw passage of the Enforcement Acts (also called the “Ku Klux Klan Act"), which armed the president with the power to declare martial law and suspend habeas corpus in areas deemed to be in a state of insurrection.

Later in 1871, the Enforcement Acts were first tested when Grant sent troops into South Carolina and ran thousands of Klansmen out of the state. Thanks to the president and the efforts of his administration, the hooded extremists in the KKK were effectively cowed into submission over the next few years. They would not resurface in force until the 1910s.

Are Enforcement Acts now needed again in the 21st century to stop brutality and the lack of law enforcement efforts to protect all Americans from cruel tormentors?

More Info: en.wikipedia.org