Essay On Reconstruction Acts

Reconstruction Acts (1867) divided the former Confederate states into five military districts, each under the control of the Union army. These acts also increased the requirements for gaining readmission to the Union and to do so, an ex-Confederate state had to ratify the 14th Amendment and place guarantees in its constitution for granting the right to vote to all adult males regardless of race. Lincoln set up a process for political Reconstruction, as in reconstructing the state governments in the South so that Unionists were in charge rather than secessionists. Full presidential pardons for most southerners who either took an oath of allegiance to the Union and the Constitution, a state government could be reestablished and accepted as legitimate
Andrew Johnson was the only senator from a southern state who remained loyal to the Union, he was a southern Democrat picked to be Lincoln's Vice President, and also white supremacist. Andrew Johnson attempted to carry out Lincoln's plan for the political Reconstruction of the 11 former states of the Confederacy. In 1866 Johnson took to the road and used his infamous, "swing around the circle" speeches to attack Congressional opponents. Johnson appealed to racial prejudices of whites. Many republicans accused Johnson of being a drunkard and a traitor and used antisouthern prejudices by employing a campaign tactic known as "waving the bloody shirt"-inflaming the hatreds of northern voters by reminding them of the hardships of war. Johnson won but Republicans owned both House and Senate. While Johnson was president the economy crashed and Northern Republicans began saying that Reconstruction was the cause for the
Hayes was elected as president. He immediately ended federal support for Southern Republicans, and decided to pull the troops out of South. The South was responsible because they resisted reconstruction. The North stopped trying to fight for the Reconstruction Acts, and DC did not pass laws to help reconstruction. Additionally, Hayes withdrew the last of the federal troops protecting Blacks and