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What did Gloster Current (NAACP official) say the Act made the federal government?

User Tubadc
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Final answer:

Gloster Current would have noted that the federal government was manipulated by proslavery interests with the Fugitive Slave Act and later took a more protective role through the Enforcement Acts to uphold civil rights and to counteract vigilantism and racially motivated violence.

Step-by-step explanation:

Gloster Current, an NAACP official, recognized that acts such as the Fugitive Slave Act and the Enforcement Acts illustrated how the federal government was used to support the interests of slaveholders and suppress Klan violence respectively. The Fugitive Slave Act confirmed the fears of a 'Slave Power' among northerners, as it revealed that proslavery southerners were willing to leverage federal power to enforce the return of escaped slaves, despite their vocal advocacy for states' rights. Conversely, the Enforcement Acts, supported by the Grant administration, demonstrated the federal government's commitment to protect voters from intimidation and uphold civil rights, with measures such as creating federal mechanisms to oversee elections and the usage of military force to enforce laws when necessary.

While the NAACP faced challenges in combatting segregationist efforts and the legal doctrine of 'separate but equal,' it also succeeded in legal battles, such as the Supreme Court decision in Guinn v. United States which ruled that the Grandfather Clause violated the Fifteenth Amendment. This showed a progression towards the greater use of federal authority to protect the rights of African Americans.

User EnterJQ
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