by Michael Zak, Republican Basics
On this day in 1871, the Republican-controlled 42nd Congress passed and the Republican President, Ulysses Grant, signed into law the Ku Klux Klan Act. The law banned the KKK and other Democrat terrorist organizations. President Grant then deployed federal troops to crush a Klan uprising in South Carolina.
Eleven years later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned most provisions of the Act. Though legalized, this original version of the Ku Klux Klan soon faded. Why? Because as Democrats regained control over southern state governments, they could oppress African-Americans openly, without need of sheets.
Republicans today would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party.
