During the Civil Rights Movement, the federal government faced a lot of pushback and violence. Many groups opposed civil rights activists, including supporters of Jim Crow laws and white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. To respond to this violence, the government took several important steps:

1. New Laws:

   • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to treat people differently based on their race, color, religion, gender, or where they come from. This important law aimed to stop segregation in public places and to put an end to unfair job practices.
   • The Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed obstacles to voting, like literacy tests. These tests had been used to prevent many African Americans, especially in the South, from voting.

2. Help from the Federal Government:

   • In times of extreme violence, federal troops and the National Guard were sent to maintain order. For example, in 1957, President Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to make sure schools were integrated.
   • During the Freedom Summer in 1964, the federal government helped protect civil rights workers and sent federal marshals to the South to keep them safe.

3. Boost in Law Enforcement:

   • The FBI started to keep a closer eye on hate groups. They even had a program called COINTELPRO that focused on disrupting groups like the Klan.
   • In the late 1960s, the FBI reported that about 10% of the violent crimes linked to hate groups were related to trafficking and civil rights violations.

4. Supreme Court Decisions:

   • The Supreme Court helped advance civil rights with important rulings, like Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. This case declared that separate public schools for different races were not allowed.

These actions show that the federal government was serious about fighting back against violence and supporting the rights of civil rights activists during a very difficult time filled with opposition and discrimination.