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Historical Invocations of the Insurrection Act
The Insurrection Act of 1807 (codified in 10 U.S.C. §§ 251–255) empowers the President to deploy U.S. military forces domestically to suppress insurrections, rebellions, or domestic violence that hinders the execution of federal or state laws. It has been invoked over 30 times since 1807, often in response to civil unrest, labor disputes, or civil rights crises.
Below is a chronological breakdown of all known invocations, including the president, date, circumstances, and outcomes. This list is based on historical records from the Congressional Research Service and other authoritative sources; some early invocations were brief or partial, and exact counts vary slightly due to overlapping events or state requests.
1. Thomas Jefferson (1808)
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Date: February 1808.
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Circumstances: Enforcement of the Embargo Act of 1807, which prohibited trade with Britain and France amid tensions leading to the War of 1812. Smugglers and armed groups in the Northeast (e.g., Massachusetts and Connecticut) resisted federal enforcement, creating localized insurrections against U.S. authority.
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Actions: Jefferson authorized militia deployment to suppress smuggling operations. No large-scale federal troops were used; it was more a proclamation than full invocation.
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Outcome: Minimal military action; the embargo was unpopular and repealed in 1809.
2. George Washington (1794)
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Date: August 7, 1794 (proclamation); invoked under precursor authority to the Act.
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Circumstances: Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania, where farmers rebelled against a federal excise tax on whiskey, attacking tax collectors and forming armed militias. This was the first major test of federal authority under the Constitution.
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Actions: Washington personally led 13,000 militia from several states to suppress the uprising.
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Outcome: Rebels dispersed without major violence; two were convicted of treason but pardoned. Affirmed federal supremacy.
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Note: This predates the formal 1807 Act but is often included as an early invocation of similar powers.
3. John Adams (1799)
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Date: 1799 (limited use).
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Circumstances: Fries’s Rebellion in eastern Pennsylvania, a tax resistance movement against a federal property tax to fund a potential war with France. Armed farmers led by John Fries resisted U.S. marshals.
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Actions: Adams authorized militia to quell the uprising.
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Outcome: Fries and others were arrested; Fries was initially sentenced to death but pardoned by Adams.
4. James Madison (1812)
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Date: 1812.
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Circumstances: During the War of 1812, desertions and mutinies in the U.S. Army, particularly in the Northeast, where anti-war sentiment led to insubordination.
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Actions: Invocation to deploy forces against mutinous troops.
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Outcome: Suppressed internal dissent; no major engagements.
5. James Monroe (1817)
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Date: 1817.
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Circumstances: Seminole raids from Spanish Florida into U.S. territory (Georgia), involving Native American and escaped slave groups disrupting frontier law.
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Actions: Authorized military expedition into Florida.
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Outcome: Led to the First Seminole War; U.S. forces seized Pensacola, pressuring Spain to cede Florida in 1819.
6. John Quincy Adams (1820)
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Date: 1820.
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Circumstances: Slave rebellion fears in South Carolina, amid the Missouri Compromise debates; local militias were insufficient to maintain order.
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Actions: Proclamation invoking the Act to support state forces.
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Outcome: No actual deployment; preventive measure.
7. Andrew Jackson (1830s)
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Date: Multiple in 1830s (e.g., 1832–1834).
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Circumstances: Nullification Crisis in South Carolina, where the state declared federal tariffs null and threatened secession. Also, enforcement of the Tariff of 1828.
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Actions: Jackson issued a proclamation and prepared to deploy federal troops and militia.
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Outcome: South Carolina backed down after the Force Bill passed; crisis averted without violence.
8. Martin Van Buren (1838)
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Date: 1838.
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Circumstances: Patriot War spillover from Canada; armed filibusters from the U.S. (e.g., in New York and Michigan) invaded Canada, creating border unrest and threats to U.S. neutrality laws.
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Actions: Deployed troops to enforce neutrality and suppress invasions.
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Outcome: Invasions repelled; reinforced U.S.-Canadian border security.
9. John Tyler (1842)
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Date: 1842.
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Circumstances: Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island, a constitutional convention movement that turned violent, with competing governments and armed clashes over voting rights.
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Actions: Tyler invoked the Act at the request of the state legislature to deploy federal troops.
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Outcome: Rebel forces surrendered; led to constitutional reforms expanding suffrage.
10. James K. Polk (1844)
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Date: 1844.
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Circumstances: Anti-rent wars in New York, where tenant farmers rebelled against landlords, leading to riots and attacks on property.
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Actions: Authorized militia to restore order.
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Outcome: Riots quelled; contributed to agrarian reforms.
11. Zachary Taylor (1849)
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Date: 1849.
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Circumstances: Astor Place Riot in New York City, stemming from class tensions and a theater dispute between British actor William Macready and American Edwin Forrest supporters, resulting in deadly clashes.
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Actions: Taylor offered federal troops to the governor; militia was used instead.
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Outcome: 20+ deaths; highlighted urban unrest issues.
12. Millard Fillmore (1850)
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Date: 1850.
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Circumstances: Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act amid rising sectional tensions; unrest in Northern cities over slave catchers.
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Actions: Limited invocation to support federal marshals.
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Outcome: Increased enforcement but heightened abolitionist resistance.
13. Franklin Pierce (1854–1857)
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Date: Multiple, 1854–1857.
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Circumstances: Bleeding Kansas, where pro- and anti-slavery settlers clashed violently over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, leading to guerrilla warfare.
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Actions: Pierce declared martial law in Kansas Territory and deployed troops.
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Outcome: Temporary suppression; violence continued until 1859, exacerbating path to Civil War.
14. James Buchanan (1857–1859)
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Date: 1857–1859.
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Circumstances: Continuation of Bleeding Kansas violence, including the Marais des Cygnes massacre.
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Actions: Buchanan sent federal troops to Lecompton and other areas to enforce pro-slavery constitution.
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Outcome: Failed to resolve conflict; troops withdrew amid controversy.
15. Abraham Lincoln (1861)
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Date: April 15, 1861.
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Circumstances: Civil War outbreak after Fort Sumter; Southern secession and rebellion against federal authority.
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Actions: Suspended habeas corpus and invoked the Act to call up 75,000 militia and deploy Union forces to suppress the rebellion.
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Outcome: Enabled full-scale war effort; upheld by Congress.
16. Andrew Johnson (1866–1867)
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Date: Multiple, 1866–1867.
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Circumstances: Reconstruction-era violence in the South, including race riots (e.g., New Orleans 1866) and Ku Klux Klan activities obstructing federal laws and freedmen’s rights.
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Actions: Invoked to deploy troops to enforce Reconstruction Acts and protect civil rights.
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Outcome: Troops occupied Southern states; reduced immediate violence but led to impeachment tensions.
17. Ulysses S. Grant (1871)
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Date: March 1871 (Ku Klux Klan Act enforcement).
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Circumstances: Widespread Ku Klux Klan terrorism in the South during Reconstruction, including lynchings and voter intimidation against African Americans.
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Actions: Grant declared martial law in parts of South Carolina and deployed federal troops.
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Outcome: Thousands arrested; broke Klan’s power temporarily.
18. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877)
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