Reconstruction Phases, Johnson Presidency, and Freedmen's Bureau Notes
Overview of Reconstruction Phases
After the Civil War, policy toward the South depended on how people framed the conflict: treating the South as treasonous criminals or as fellow countrymen deserving reconciliation and reconstruction.
There were two phases of Reconstruction:
Presidential phase of Reconstruction
Congressional (military) Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson: Key Facts and Veto Power
Johnson is remembered as the president who exercised the veto power more times than any prior or subsequent president.
He vetoed many laws or policies that would extend rights or benefits to formerly enslaved people. Roughly, he vetoed on the order of vetoes on record.
He also had more of his vetoes overridden than other presidents prior to or after him.
The veto pen was the main tool of executive influence over legislation; congressional overrides represented acts of defiance and power assertion by the Republican-controlled Congress.
Radical Republicans in Congress
Republicans in Congress who pushed for stronger measures for Reconstruction were nicknamed by opponents as:
"Radical Republicans" (the legitimate term)
In some cases, opponents used the term "black Republicans" to imply alignment with Black rights, a harmful shorthand implying they were Pro-Black rights rather than reflecting race.
Two key figures often cited as archetypal radicals:
In the House: Thaddeus Stevens (Pennsylvania) — first name Thaddeus; pronunciation and spelling note: t-h-a-d-d-e-u-s.
In the Senate: Charles Sumner (Massachusetts)
Sumner was previously assaulted on the Senate floor by a southern congressman who beat him with a cane after Sumner’s abolitionist speech; the incident occurred about eleven to twelve years prior but is cited to illustrate his ongoing abolitionist stance.
Radical Republicans tended to be abolitionists before the Civil War and maintained strong anti-slavery and civil rights commitments after the war.
Johnson’s Impeachment and the Tenure of Office Context
Johnson’s presidency faced a highly contentious relationship with Congress, which led to impeachment proceedings.
In 1867, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, which said that a president could not nominate or appoint someone to his cabinet without congressional approval first.
The form of the law: the president would need prior congressional approval before making cabinet appointments.
This law was later struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, but it set the stage for impeachment grounds.
Johnson’s impeachment occurred in February , making him the first U.S. president to be impeached.
The House voted to impeach; the Senate held a trial to remove him. The removal vote failed by one vote; one or more senators abstained, preventing the two-thirds threshold.
The impeachment process demonstrated the depth of partisan conflict and did not result in removal, leaving Johnson as a lame-duck president from to (presidential election year).
Outcome and terminology:
A president can be impeached without removal; removal requires a two-thirds Senate vote.
Johnson’s impeachment highlighted the shift of Reconstruction power from the executive branch to the legislative branch.
Transition to Congressional (Military) Reconstruction
Following Johnson’s impeachment and the political dynamics, the power over Reconstruction shifted toward Congress.
This shift marks the beginning of Congressional Reconstruction, also known as Military Reconstruction, which lasted until and effectively ended Reconstruction.
During this phase, the federal government used military authority to enforce Reconstruction policies in the former Confederate states.
Presidential Phase of Reconstruction: What Happened (1836–66 window and beyond)
The presidential phase did not yield the most progress for formerly enslaved people; it devolved into a quasi-status of freedom that still restricted Black citizens in many ways.
Lincoln’s approach and the 1864-1865 policy discussions shaped the early phase:
The question of “bygones” versus punishment influenced how quickly states were readmitted and how Black rights were protected.
The 1866 readmission of former Confederate states occurred, and these states formed new state-level governments with legislatures in the South that began enacting laws affecting Black citizens.
Key policy ideas discussed in class related to the presidential phase included:
The 10% Plan: Lincoln proposed that a portion of voters (10%) in the 1860 electorate would take loyalty oaths to reintegrate into the Union. The plan emphasized leniency toward the South to reconstruct the nation; the exact terms and timing were debated.
Voting eligibility and age: In 1860, voting age was (not ); historically, the 26th Amendment set the voting age to in 1971, but in 1860 the threshold was higher.
Loyalty oaths: The use of loyalty oaths as a gatekeeping mechanism to re-enter the Union.
Lincoln’s leniency vs. punitive approaches: The discussion of whether Lincoln would favor bygones, lenient reconciliation, or harsher punishment was central to debates about Reconstruction.
By 1866, the former Confederate states were readmitted under Presidential reconstruction, and those states set up new state governments that began to limit the freedoms of formerly enslaved people through state laws.
Black Codes: Legal Frameworks Restricting Freed Blacks (Presidential Phase)
Black codes were a set of state laws enacted by former Confederate states in the wake of emancipation, designed to limit the freedom of Black people and maintain a labor force akin to slavery.
Core areas affected by Black Codes included:
Restrictions on firearm ownership by Black individuals.
Prohibitions on Black testimony in juries.
Other civil and political limitations to maintain social and economic control.
Anti-vagrancy laws: These were used to criminalize quasi-loitering or absence from work, particularly affecting Black citizens.
Apprenticeship laws (apprenticeship systems): Thinly veiled mechanisms to re-enslave Black children by placing them in the hands of white landowners who could arrest or otherwise discipline families for noncompliance.
An enacted example of enforcement: a case in which a 65-year-old Virginia woman walking to work faced arrest under anti-vagrancy statutes; she was offered a choice between paying a large fine (, a substantial sum at the time) or receiving corporal punishment (e.g., lashes); she chose lashes and died after five lashes, illustrating the brutal enforcement practices of the era.
Intent: These laws sought to reassert White control and maintain a labor system similar to slavery under new legal forms, with support from Southern policymakers and, broadly, a federal administration that allowed such state laws to persist during the early Reconstruction period.
The Supreme Court later limited some federal power over state laws, but the immediate effect during the presidential phase was a tightening of Black citizens’ freedoms at the state level.
The Tenth Amendment (state powers) was invoked to argue that states could set their own laws and policies; Congress, however, would later override or limit these powers during Congressional Reconstruction.
Freedmen’s Bureau: Federal Initiatives to Aid the Newly Free
The Freedmen’s Bureau was established by Congress in 1865 to manage affairs affecting formerly enslaved people.
Two main emphases of the Bureau:
Property ownership for freedpeople
Education for freedpeople
Property ownership and education addressed the two major post-emancipation priorities identified by former enslaved people—a shift away from slavery toward economic and social self-sufficiency.
The Bureau’s focus on education was important as a foundation for civic participation and economic opportunity.
Field Order No. 15 and the 40 Acres and a Mule Concept
Field Order No. 15 was a military directive issued in that laid the groundwork for land redistribution to emancipated people.
Key features of Field Order No. 15:
It redirected land and property (not just dirt) to freedpeople to support a fresh start after emancipation.
The intended allocation was roughly .
It involved access to land, homes, farming tools, and livestock, enabling Black families to become economically independent farmers.
The order originated from General William T. Sherman’s “total war” campaign (starting November 1864) targeting Southern farmland, infrastructure, and economic assets to pressure Confederate surrender.
Sherman’s directives included redistributing seized land to freedpeople in the South, with the goal of enabling a new life of freedom and self-sufficiency.
In Florida’s case, the Callahan-Uley area near the Florida-Georgia border was among the locations affected by Sherman’s campaign and potential land redistribution under Field Order No. 15.
September 1865: President Andrew Johnson invalidated Field Order No. 15 and attempted to roll back its provisions.
Southern Homestead Act of 1866 and Its Limits
The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 was passed to make federally owned land in five Southern states available for purchase by formerly enslaved people under favorable terms.
Five states covered by the act: .
Florida was not among the beneficiary states in this act.
Land made available under the act totaled approximately (commonly described as about 0.75 million acres).
Estimated impact: about formerly enslaved households were able to acquire land under this act.
The act was named the Southern Homestead Act of (sometimes referred to in discussions with the year; the transcript notes “Southern Homestead Act of ’66”).
Johnson’s September 1865 veto of Field Order No. 15 is presented as an example of how presidential policy undermined early Reconstruction land reform efforts.
End of the Presidential Phase and Transition to Congressional Reconstruction
The presidential phase concluded with limited gains for the newly freed population, particularly in terms of land redistribution and federal protection.
The shift to Congressional Reconstruction followed Johnson’s clashes with Congress and the impeachment episode, leading to a period in which Congress asserted greater control over Reconstruction policy and the day-to-day governance of the former Confederacy.
Congressional Reconstruction (military Reconstruction) is identified as the phase after the Johnson era, lasting until and bringing far more direct federal intervention in Southern states to secure civil rights and voting rights for Black citizens.
Key Takeaways and Connections
Veto power and impeachment illustrate the deep political divide over Reconstruction and civil rights for freedpeople.
Radical Republicans in Congress sought to enforce civil rights and rebuild the South under federal authority, often clashing with Johnson’s lenient approach.
The presidential phase produced only modest progress for Black Americans, with Black Codes and resemblances of forced labor mechanisms (anti-vagrancy laws, apprenticeship laws) enabling continued coercive labor relations.
The Freedmen’s Bureau represented a foundational federal effort to aid newly freed people through education and property access, though its scope was contested and limited by congressional and presidential actions.
Field Order No. 15 and the 40 acres and a mule concept became a powerful symbol of potential economic independence for Black families, but presidential policy (notably Johnson’s actions) curtailed these gains.
The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 offered land to formerly enslaved people in five Southern states, but its exclusion of Florida and the limited acreage and uptake show that land reform remained contested and uneven across the former Confederacy.
The end of Reconstruction in 1876 marked a retreat from federal commitment to civil rights, setting the stage for Jim Crow-era policies to consolidate in the South.
Ethical and practical implications include the tension between reconciliation and justice, the role of federal power vs. states’ rights, and the long-term consequences of policy choices for Black citizenship and political equality.
ext{Veto count (Johnson): }
41 \text{ vetoes (approx.)} \n\text{Field Order No. 15: see Lincoln/ Sherman era; invalidated by Johnson in } \$1865
\text{40 acres per household: } 40 \text{ acres} \n\text{Southern Homestead Act of 1866: } 5 \text{ states, } 7.5\times 10^5 \text{ acres, } 14{,}000 \text{ households} \n\text{Identifiable years: } 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1876.}