Today in history: April 20

On this date in 1871, Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1871 at the urging of President U.S. Grant.  The measure, originally aimed at suppressing the Ku Klux Klan in the South, will eventually come to be codified as one of the most important civil rights laws, as 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

[Frank Snyder]