Reconstruction Act
Encyclopedia
After the end of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, as part of the on-going process of Reconstruction, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 passed four statutes known as Reconstruction Acts (March 2, 1867 (39 Cong. Ch. 153; ), March 23, 1867 (40 Cong. Ch. 6; ), July 19, 1867 (40 Cong. Ch. 30; ), March 11, 1868 (ch. 25)). Fulfillment of the requirements of the Acts were necessary for the former Confederate States
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 to be readmitted to the Union. The Acts excluded Tennessee, which had already ratified the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...

 and had been readmitted to the Union.

A key feature of the Acts included the creation of five military districts, each commanded by a general, which would serve as the acting government for the region. In addition, Congress required that each state draft a new state constitution, which would have to be approved by Congress. The states also were required to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment and grant voting rights to black men.

President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

's vetoes of these measures were overridden by Congress. After Ex Parte McCardle
Ex parte McCardle
Ex parte McCardle, 74 U.S. 506 , is a United States Supreme Court decision that examines the extent of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to review decisions of lower courts under federal statutory law.-Case history:...

(1867) came before the Supreme Court, Congress feared that the Court might strike the Reconstruction Acts down as unconstitutional. To prevent this, Congress repealed the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867, revoking to the Supreme Court;s jurisdiction over the case.
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