The President
vs. Congress
President Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan
• While Congress was out of session in 1865, President
Andrew Johnson put his plan for Reconstruction into effect:
1. All former Confederate states had to create new State
Constitutions that accepted the 13th Amendment which
abolished slavery.
2. All former Confederate states had to renounce secession
and accept that they had no legal right to leave the
Union.
3. To get their voting rights back, all adult white males had
to swear a loyalty oath to the United States (except
Confederate leaders who had to personally plead to
Johnson for a pardon).
• Once the former Confederate states had done these things
Johnson allowed them to rejoin the Union and form new
state governments.
The Black Codes
• While the former Confederate states had been
forced to accept that slavery was dead, they moved
quickly to pass laws called “Black Codes” which
restricted the rights of African Americans.
• The Black Codes included laws that restricted the
freedoms of speech, assembly and the right to bear
arms. African Americans were also forbidden from
learning to read or write.
• African Americans were also required to get a
license if they wanted to work anywhere except a
farm. Other Black Codes made it illegal for African
Americans to be unemployed. Those who were
found to not have a legally approved job were
arrested and made to work (usually on a farm) as
punishment. (essentially making them slaves).
Civil Rights Act of 1866
• When Congress returned in 1866 they were surprised to
find that President Johnson had essentially declared
Reconstruction over and many southern states had
already elected representatives to Congress which
included some Confederate leaders.
• Outraged, Congress refused to let the new southern
representatives take their seats and instead began to
work on their own plans for Reconstruction. These
plans included renewing the Freedmen’s Bureau and
passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to fight the Black
Codes and protect the Constitutional rights of African
Americans.
• President Johnson vetoed both of these bills but his
vetoes were overridden by the Republican Congress
which was becoming increasingly fed up with the
Democratic President.
The 14th Amendment
To further protect the rights of African American
citizens, Congress proposed the 14th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment did
several things including:
Declared that anyone who was born in the United
States or one of its territories was automatically an
American Citizen (this applied to all former slaves
but it did not apply to American Indians).
Declared that all U.S. Citizens had the right to
equal protection under the law and no state can
make laws that deny rights to one group of people
that are enjoyed by another group of people.
Congress rejected President Johnson’s
Reconstruction efforts and required that all
Southern states ratify the 14th Amendment as a
condition for rejoining the Union.
Congressional Reconstruction
• When Congress returned in 1867 they found that all the
Southern States except for Tennessee had defiantly
refused to ratify the 14th Amendment or protect the
rights of African-Americans. Organizations like the Ku
Klux Klan were trying to stop African Americans from
voting.
• To force the South to obey, the Radical Republicans in
Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867. Under
this act the US Army would occupy the former
Confederate States (except Tennessee) and enforce all
Congressional Acts including the 14th Amendment.
• Johnson vetoed the Reconstruction Act but once again
his veto was overridden by Congress.
• Southern States were outraged because they felt like
they were being treated like a defeated and occupied
enemy country instead of part of the United States.
The Impeachment of President Johnson
• Though weakened, President Johnson continued to try
and stop Congress from forcing its will on the South. He
opposed all efforts by Congress to force the south to
approve the 14th and later 15th Amendments and
sought to undermine the military occupation of the
South.
• In 1868, Congress finally got fed up with Johnson and
impeached the President, charging him with misusing
his powers. According to the Constitution, if the
President is impeached then the Senate will hold
impeachment proceedings (sort of like a trial) and vote
on removing the President from office.
• Johnson survived his impeachment trial by one vote.
Though he was allowed to stay in office for the last few
months of Lincoln’s second term, Johnson’s power and
that of the Presidency was severely weakened.
Importance of the 14th Amendment
Read the 14th Amendment along with the class in
your textbook. (Read Section 1 on page 285).
 In your journal describe how the 14th Amendment
still impacts American society today (paragraph).
 Consider what the 14th Amendment means to those
who are born in the United States and what it
means to groups of people who have historically
faced discrimination.
 This assignment will be part of your 4th Nine Weeks
Journal Check.