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| | HighBeam Encyclopedia - force bill (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03) |
 | | FORCE BILL [force bill] popular name for several laws in U.S. history, notably the act of Mar. 2, 1833, and the Reconstruction acts of May 31, 1870; Feb. 28, 1871; and Apr. 20, 1871. |
 | | The first force bill, passed in response to South Carolina's ordinance of nullification, empowered President Jackson to use the army and navy, if necessary, to enforce the laws of Congress, specifically the tariff measures to which South Carolina had objected so violently. |
 | | In the second set of force bills, or enforcement acts, as they were also called, the radical Republicans controlling Congress strengthened their Reconstruction program for the South by imposing severe penalties on those Southerners who tried to obstruct it. |
| www.encyclopedia.com /html/f/forcebil.asp (546 words) |
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