As the Civil War drew to a close, how to treat the states that had left the Union was a significant challenge. President Lincoln had a forgiving attitude and believed that the states never actually left the Union. He thought that all the states needed to do was accept the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery, elect new local governments, and send their representatives to Washington. When Lincoln was assassinated, Vice President Johnson took over. As the only Senator from the South to remain loyal during the Civil War, he was not fully trusted by the Northerners. Johnson continued Lincoln’s policies towards the Southern states, but without Lincoln’s prestige, Johnson faced opposition from the Republicans in Congress. Johnson’s task was made harder by the actions of the Southern states in passing “Black Codes”—laws that restricted the rights of freed slaves.

The Republicans in Congress, who became known as the Radical Republicans, never accepted Lincoln’s approach and believed that it was up to the legislative branch to decide when states could fully return to the Union. In 1867, they passed the Reconstruction Act, which assigned the military the role of organizing local governments, ensuring that ex-slaves received the right to vote, and denying the right to vote to supporters of the Confederacy. The South was divided into five military districts, and the goal of the military was to ensure that African Americans were able to vote. The military oversaw the election process and was responsible for making sure that all officeholders had taken an oath to the United States. Under the act, for a state to be readmitted to the Union, it had to approve the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing all men the right to vote.

President Johnson opposed the Reconstruction Act and vetoed it. His veto was easily overridden by Congress, and the act became law. New governments were elected in the South, and they included many African Americans.