Reconstruction

In the history of the United States, "Reconstruction" was the period after the American Civil War when the southern states of the breakaway Confederate States of America|Confederacy were reintegrated into the United States of America.

Laws and legislation

Abraham Lincoln had endorsed a lenient plan for reconstruction, which neither aided the recently freed slaves, nor imposed a Northern agenda on the restoration of the Southern economy. However, a powerful group of Radical Republicans within the U.S. Congress resisted readmitting the rebel states without first imposing conditions. A series of laws, passed by the Federal government, established the conditions and procedures for reintegrating the Southern states.

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Much of the impetus for Reconstruction involved the social and political status of freed slaves in the Southern states. In response to efforts by Southern states to deny civil rights to the freed slaves, Congress enacted a Civil Rights Act in 1866 and again in 1875). This action led to conflict with President Andrew Johnson, who vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866; however, his veto was overridden.

Related Topics:
Slave - Civil Rights Act - 1866 - 1875 - Andrew Johnson - Civil Rights Act of 1866

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After solid Republican gains in the midterm elections, the first Reconstruction Act was passed on March 2, 1867; the last on March 11, 1868. The first Reconstruction Act divided ten Confederate states (all except Tennessee, which had been readmitted on July 24, 1866) into five military districts.

Related Topics:
Republican - Reconstruction Act - March 2 - 1867 - March 11 - 1868 - Tennessee - July 24 - 1866

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