Yet for over 150 years, civil suits against state and local officials have been allowed. Soon after the Civil War, significant violations of civil rights, especially in the former rebel states, led Congress to recognize the need to empower federal courts to enforce the Constitution against state and local governments. The Civil Rights Act of 1871 makes it a crime for a state or local officer to use their authority “under color of law” to violate a person’s rights. The act also allows civil suits for monetary damages or injunctive relief against any state or local employee who, during their work, violates the Constitution or federal laws.