Through the so-called Black Codes, Southern elites sought to keep the status quo and
provide loopholes to the Thirteenth Amendment and the abolition of slavery. Owing to President
Andrew Johnson's policies and Southern white interests, enforcement even of congressional
legislation was elusive until Ulysses Grant won the presidency in 1868.
The
Civil Rights Acts, sometimes called the Enforcement Acts, passed in 1870€“71, sought to
guarantee equal protection under the law, the right to vote, the ability to serve on juries, and
the right to hold office for all American citizens regardless of race. Various breaches of
legality, including the use of terror and bribery, were expressly banned. Meanwhile, the
president was granted the right to use the army for purposes of enforcement. These federal laws
also provided for central government monitoring of local and state elections. Finally, officials
who stood in the way of enforcement of the acts were made liable in federal court.
Historians...
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