Differences Between Johnson And Congress Over Reconstruction

The victory of the Civil War in 1865 may have given slaves their freedom, but the progression of rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction period introduced a new set of substantial challenges for America. The death of President Abraham Lincoln took American by surprise. President Lincoln was not clear of his plan of Reconstruction, therefore when Andrew Johnson took over presidency he had to improvise. Under the administration of President Andrew Johnson, new southern state legislatures passed restrictive “black codes” to control the labor and the behavior of former slaves and other African Americans. After President Johnson enforced that rule, an outrage in the North over the “Black Codes” eroded support for the approach, which was

The conduct of the governments he established turned many Northerners against the president's policies. Therefore, a clash between President Johnson and Congress over Reconstruction was unavoidable. By the end of 1865, Radical Republican views had gained a majority in Congress, and the critical year of 1866 saw a gradual weakening of President Johnson’s power. Johnson failed to provide the nation with enlightened leadership or deal effectively with Congress. Racism prevented him from responding to black demands for civil rights, and personal inflexibility rendered him unable to compromise with Congress. In June of 1866, the Joint Committee on Reconstruction determined that, by seceding, the southern states had forfeited “all civil and political rights under the Constitution.” The Committee then took some drastic changes, starting with rejecting President Johnson’s Reconstruction plan, denning seating of southern legislators, and maintaining that only Congress could determine if and how Reconstruction would take place. Part of the Reconstruction plan developed by the Joint Committee to replace Johnson’s Reconstruction proclamation was demonstrated in the Fourteenth

Johnson’s plan stated that freed African Americans had no role in politics, and the new southern legislatures even passed “black codes” restricting the freedom of African Americans and forcing them into repressive labor situations, which was a development that they strongly resisted upon. In the congressional elections of 1866, northern voters rejected Johnson’s view of Reconstruction and handed a major victory to the so-called Radical Republicans, who now took control of Reconstruction. Republicans had strong determination to control the South. Congress’ passage of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 marked the beginning of the Radical Reconstruction period, which lasted for the next decade. That legislation divided the South into five military districts and delineated how new state governments based on universal suffrage for both whites and black were to be systematized. The new state legislatures replicated the revolutionary changes brought about by the Civil War and emancipation; for the first time, blacks and whites stood together in political life. The southern state governments formed during this historical of Reconstruction epitomized a combination of African Americans, and northern whites and