This Day in Republican History 5/31/06

May 31, 1870 President U.S. Grant signs Republicans’ Enforcement Act, providing stiff penalties for depriving any American’s civil rights This Act was designed to protect black voters. Unfortunately, those who witnessed such violations were usually unwilling to testify, so further legislation was soon necessary. There was a Second Enforcement Act in 1871 and a Third Enforcement Act (also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act), also in 1871, which served the same basic purposes. This Third Act strengthened sanctions against those who impeded black suffrage. It gave the President the right to use federal forces to enforce the law. But not until 1960 did the Democratic Party pledge in their platform to acknowledge civil rights legislation.