During Reconstruction, Congress passed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments
to establish martial law in parts of the South and maintain law and order in the wake of growing violence.
to grant African Americans more rights, such as citizenship, and greater protections under the law.
to create stricter laws against violence and stop the terrorism and intimidation tactics of the Ku Klux Klan.
to give White Southerners more rights, particularly poor farmers who were struggling financially after the war.