Insurrection Act (1807)

1) Link to the Text of the Act
Read the statute (10 U.S.C. §§ 251–255)

2) Why It Was Done
Passed to provide the President with authority to deploy military forces domestically to respond to insurrections, enforce federal law, and protect civil rights when states are unwilling or unable to act.

3) Pre-existing Law or Constitutional Rights
It built on earlier militia statutes (like the Militia Acts of 1792), giving the executive clearer authority to use federal forces. Operates as an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act.