Lesson 2: Radical Reconstruction

Key Idea

Under President Johnson's lenient Reconstruction plan, Southern states quickly passed laws known as black codes. These laws were designed to control the lives and labor of newly freed African Americans.

The codes limited the types of jobs African Americans could hold and restricted where they could live or travel. Some laws allowed officials to arrest unemployed Black people and force them to work for white landowners. This system created conditions that closely resembled slavery.

Key Idea

A major disagreement broke out between President Andrew Johnson and a group in Congress known as the Radical Republicans. Johnson's lenient plans for the South did not do enough to protect formerly enslaved people, and he vetoed laws designed to help them.

In response, Congress took control. They passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 over the president's veto. They then proposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which defined all people born in the U.S. as citizens and guaranteed them "equal protection of the laws." This victory gave Congress the authority to lead Reconstruction.

Key Idea

Frustrated by President Johnson's opposition, Radical Republicans took full control. They passed the Reconstruction Acts, which divided the South into five military districts. The U.S. Army would now enforce federal law and protect the rights of freedpeople, overriding the new state governments Johnson had approved.

This power struggle led to a constitutional crisis. After Johnson deliberately violated a law passed by Congress, the House of Representatives voted to impeach him. He was formally charged with wrongdoing but was narrowly saved from removal by a single vote in the Senate.