Second Enforcement Act facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Enforcement Act of 1871

Long title	An Act to amend an Act approved May thirty-one, eighteen hundred and seventy, entitled "An Act to enforce the Rights of Citizens of the United States to vote in several States of this Union, and for other Purposes."
Nicknames	Civil Rights Act of 1871, Second Ku Klux Klan Act
Enacted by	the 41st United States Congress
Citations
Statutes at Large	16 Stat. 433–440
Codification
Acts amended	Enforcement Act of 1870
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 2634 by John C. Churchill (R–NY) on January 9, 1871 Committee consideration by House Judiciary Passed the House on February 15, 1871 (144 - 64) Passed the Senate on February 25, 1871 (39 - 25) Signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on February 28, 1871

The Second Enforcement Act of 1871 was an important U.S. federal law. It is also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1871. Some people called it the Second Ku Klux Klan Act. This law was part of a series of laws called the Enforcement Acts. These laws were passed between 1870 and 1871. They aimed to protect the voting rights of African Americans. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan were trying to stop them from voting. This act helped protect those rights during the Reconstruction Era.

How the Law Was Made

Republican Representative John C. Churchill introduced this bill. He was from New York. His bill was called H.R. 2634. The United States Congress voted on it in February 1871. It passed both the House and the Senate. U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law. This happened on February 28, 1871.