The Posse Comitatus Act: Can we maintain American freedom
without it? By C. T. Rossi web posted July 29, 2002 It seems an
odd first step. Why would the head of Homeland Security, Tom
Ridge, recommend a repeal of the Posse Comitatus Act as a first
measure towards fighting terrorism? The Posse Comitatus Act was
approved by Congress on June 18, 1878. The measure was in
response to the disputed election of 1876 where Rutherford B.
Hayes went to bed the loser, but eventually found his way into
the Oval Office. The troops who President Grant had stationed at
polling places may have had an undue influence over the ballot
boxes and stolen a victory for Hayes. Whether the election was
actually fraudulent or not, Congress thought it wise to avoid
the appearance of impropriety by seeing to it that federal
troops would never again be stationed next to the polls - hence
the advent of the Posse Comitatus Act. What the act essentially
did was render the use of federal troops for civilian law
enforcement illegal. In a sense,