Reconstruction Acts

The Reconstruction Acts, or the Military Reconstruction Acts, (March 2, 1867, 14 Stat. 428-430, c.153; March 23, 1867, 15 Stat. 2-5, c.6; July 19, 1867, 15 Stat. 14-16, c.30; and March 11, 1868, 15 Stat. 41, c.25) were four statutes passed during the Reconstruction Era by the 40th United States Congress addressing the requirement for Southern States to be readmitted to the Union. The actual title of the initial legislation was "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the Rebel States" and was passed on March 4, 1867. Fulfillment of the requirements of the Acts was necessary for the former Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union from military and Federal control imposed during and after the American Civil War. The Acts excluded Tennessee, which had already ratified the 14th Amendment and had been readmitted to the Union on July 24, 1866.

Background

Reconstruction first began under the Union Army, which implemented policies conducive to their military goals. The succession of Andrew Johnson to the Presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was initially supported by Radicals in Congress, who thought Johnson's policies would be more punitive and far reaching than Lincoln's. However, Johnson took a conciliatory approach and inflicted almost no punishment on the South, even as Southern states passed the Black Codes and sent Confederates to Congress. Johnson sought to finish Reconstruction by December 1865, before Congress would meet again. He was unsuccessful at this goal and when Congress met in 1866, they passed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, both over Johnson's veto. Johnson's hostility to Congressional plans led to growing discontent in Congress with his administration. The midterm elections of 1866 produced a resounding endorsement of Radical policy and rejection of Johnson's. Support grew among Congressional Republicans to wipe away the current Johnson state governments and their abuses and to create new governments.

History

The passage of the Reconstruction Acts marks the beginning of Congressional Reconstruction. The Acts set forth the requirements for the late rebel states to regain entry into the Union. For reentry, each state had to draft a new state constitution, which would have to be approved by Congress. These constitutions would have to enfranchise the freedmen and abolish the Black Codes. A key addition of the Acts included the creation of five military districts in the South, each commanded by a general, which would serve as the highest authority for the region, though few generals were actively involved in day to day affaires, especially after new constitutions were passed. The states were also required to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. President Andrew Johnson's vetoes of these measures were overridden by Congress.

General George Meade (of the Third Military District) appointed Brig. General Thomas H. Ruger
to replace Governor of Georgia Charles J. Jenkins, who had been elected as the only candidate in 1865 to succeed James Johnson, who had been appointed by President Andrew Johnson.

After '' Ex parte McCardle'' (1869) came before the United States Supreme Court, Congress feared that the Court might strike the Reconstruction Acts down as unconstitutional. To prevent this, Congress repealed the Habeas Corpus Act 1867, eliminating the Supreme Court's jurisdiction over the case.

See also

* Reconstruction Amendments
* First Military District (Virginia)
* Second Military District (North Carolina, South Carolina)
* Third Military District (Georgia, Alabama and Florida)
* Fourth Military District (Arkansas and Mississippi)
* Fifth Military District (Texas and Louisiana)

References

Further reading

* Kevin J. Coleman (2015)
''The Voting Rights Act of 1965: Background and Overview''
(PDF). This Congressional Research Service document describes at its pages 4–5 the four Reconstruction Acts passed in 1867 and 1868 in the context of the United States reconstruction after the end of the Civil as envisioned by the United States Congress
Archived
from the original on June 22, 2021.

External links

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39th United States Congress
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1867 in American law
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Andrew Johnson administration controversies
Political repression in the United States
Reconstruction Era legislation
United States constitutional law
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