The Ku Klux Klan, formed during the early days of Reconstruction, ceased to operate at the beginning of the 1870s and remained dormant for almost a half-century due to which legislation?

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The federal government passed the Force Acts in 1870 and 1871, allowing the government to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan for criminal activity, subsequently causing the organization to cease activity for almost 50 years. The first incarnation of the KKK was born in 1865 and espoused an agenda of preserving Southern communities and aiding war widows, though its true intent was to terrorize, if not eliminate, African-American citizens through violence and intimidation. When it became difficult for the organization to operate following the passage of the Force Acts, most of the members retreated to similar but less prominent organizations, like the Red Shirts and the White League. The KKK began anew in 1915 and surged in popularity in the 1920s, expanding its focus to oppose Catholics, Jews, progressive white Southerners, and homosexuals, in addition to African-Americans.

The Ku Klux Klan, Formed During the Early Days of Reconstruction