After the civil war ended the united states had to come up with a plan for what to do next in terms of the south and what to do with the now freed slaves. Each branch of government all had different ideas for what they wanted to come out of reconstruction.
President Johnson had envisioned reconstruction as a rebuilding and reintegrating the south back into the union, without punishing the south too much. They wanted reconstruction to be as smooth as possible but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Johnson was not prepared for the presidency after Lincolns death. Johnson’s plan went further than Lincoln’s and excluded those confederates who owned taxable property more than $20,000 from the pardon. He believed that the rich southerners were …show more content…
The relationship between Johnson and congress became even more strained when President Johnson vetoed a bill to extend the life of the Freedman’s Bureau. Johnson said it was an unconstitutional extension of military authority since wartime conditions no longer existed. Congress did override the veto, helping it last until the early 1870s. Striking back congress passed the Civil Rights Bill in March 1866. This bill granted American citizenship to blacks and denied the states the power to restrict their rights to hold property, testify in court, and make contracts for their labor. Congress aimed to destroy black codes and justified the legislation as implementing freedom under the Thirteenth Amendment. Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Bill, which prompted most republicans that there was no future cooperation with Johnson. Congress overrode the veto and from that point on tended to override Johnson’s vetoes. Congress wouldn’t allow any southern state back into the union without ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment. Congresses last act in reconstruction was the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which prohibited racial discrimination in jury selection, transportation etc., but the act didn’t have strong informant and didn’t last that
President Johnson had envisioned reconstruction as a rebuilding and reintegrating the south back into the union, without punishing the south too much. They wanted reconstruction to be as smooth as possible but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Johnson was not prepared for the presidency after Lincolns death. Johnson’s plan went further than Lincoln’s and excluded those confederates who owned taxable property more than $20,000 from the pardon. He believed that the rich southerners were …show more content…
The relationship between Johnson and congress became even more strained when President Johnson vetoed a bill to extend the life of the Freedman’s Bureau. Johnson said it was an unconstitutional extension of military authority since wartime conditions no longer existed. Congress did override the veto, helping it last until the early 1870s. Striking back congress passed the Civil Rights Bill in March 1866. This bill granted American citizenship to blacks and denied the states the power to restrict their rights to hold property, testify in court, and make contracts for their labor. Congress aimed to destroy black codes and justified the legislation as implementing freedom under the Thirteenth Amendment. Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Bill, which prompted most republicans that there was no future cooperation with Johnson. Congress overrode the veto and from that point on tended to override Johnson’s vetoes. Congress wouldn’t allow any southern state back into the union without ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment. Congresses last act in reconstruction was the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which prohibited racial discrimination in jury selection, transportation etc., but the act didn’t have strong informant and didn’t last that