United States v. Cruikshank

Audience

As might have been expected, Democrats celebrated the decision as a blow against Republican Reconstruction policy. They were aware that the decision weakened efforts to protect black voters by forcing prosecutors to prove that the motive of violence against them was their race. Given the limited resources of the Department of Justice, this would not be easy. Moreover, given Democratic control of the House of Representatives, it was extremely unlikely that new legislation would appear that would expand the protection offered black voters under law. However, many Republicans also spoke highly of the decision as responsible and dispassionate. By now, they wondered whether it was politically wise or even possible to protect black rights, given the growing opposition to federal intervention in southern affairs. African Americans and their allies might well have seen the decision as another step backward with a promise of worse to come, but even President Grant, who had been outspoken earlier in his comments on the case, chose to remain silent in the aftermath of the Court’s decision.