Reconstruction Acts

Reconstruction Acts

After the end of the Civil War, as part of the on-going process of Reconstruction, the United States Congress passed four statutes known as Reconstruction Acts (March 2, 1867 (39 Cong. Ch. 153; 14 Stat. 428), March 23, 1867 (40 Cong. Ch. 6; 15 Stat. 2), July 19, 1867 (40 Cong. Ch. 30; 15 Stat. 14), March 11, 1868 (ch. 25, 15 Stat. 41)). Fulfillment of the requirements of the Acts were necessary for the former Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union. The Acts excluded Tennessee, which had already ratified the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution 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's vetoes of these measures were overridden by Congress. After Ex Parte McCardle (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 To prevent this, Congress repealed the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867, revoking to the Supreme Court;s jurisdiction over the case.


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