In the January 27,
1866 issue of Harper’s Weekly (published January 17),
editor George William Curtis
characterized General
Ulysses S. Grant’s assurance of a continued federal military
presence in the South and the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill to be twin
parts of “A Long Step Forward” in the reconstruction of the
nation. In particular, Curtis emphasized that the bill’s
promised allocation of unoccupied land to ex-slaves would let
them attain economic independence and viability, which, in turn,
would lead to political rights. (In reality, the ex-slaves
received little land, so that most remained economically
dependent on their former masters, the white plantation
owners.) The editor was also confident that Congress and
President Johnson would approve the legislation. His prediction
was half right.
On January 25, 1866, the Senate
passed
the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill 37-10, with all favorable
votes cast by Republicans and all negative votes by Democrats.
On February 6, the House
passed the bill 136-33,
with only one Republican casting a no vote. However, on
February 19, President Johnson vetoed the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill
as unconstitutional and contrary to the public welfare. Until
that time, many Republicans believed that Johnson was willing to
work with them on Reconstruction. Senator Lyman Trumbull, the
bill’s sponsor, and Senator William Fessenden, head of the
Reconstruction Committee, had both discussed the Freedmen’s
Bureau Bill with the president, who had given them the
impression he had no objection it. Therefore, Johnson’s veto
caught Republicans off guard, causing an outburst of surprise on
the Senate floor when the veto message was read. Formal debate
was postponed until the next day, when the Senate’s
second vote in favor of the bill, 30-18, was short of the
two-thirds majority necessary to override the presidential
veto. On February 23, a new Freedmen’s Bureau Bill was
introduced by Congressman James Wilson of Iowa and referred to
the Joint Committee on Reconstruction.
In reaction to Johnson’s veto, editor
Curtis
argued in the March 3, 1866 issue of
Harper’s Weekly (published February 21) that the situation
in the postwar South demanded federal legislation and oversight
as authorized by the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill. He pointed out
that the president’s own actions, including approval of the
nullification of Virginia’s Black Code by its provisional
governor, General Alfred Terry, recognized that “the condition
of the country is exceptional” and, therefore, required
special-case legislation. Although Curtis differed with the
president over the veto, the editor continued into the summer to
believe they were working toward the same goal. In the April
14, 1866 issue (published April 4), Thomas Nast’s double-page of
caricatures of people in the news included
President Johnson
kicking the Freedmen’s Bureau down the White House
steps. |
1) January 27, 1866, p. 50, c. 2-3
editorial, “A Long Step
Forward”
2)
February 10, 1866, p. 83, c. 4
“Domestic Intelligence” column
3)
February 24, 1866, p. 115, c. 3
“Domestic Intelligence” column
4)
March 10, 1866, p. 147, c. 3
“Domestic Intelligence” column
5) March 3, 1866, p. 130, c. 2
editorial, “The Veto Message”
6) April 14, 1866, p. 232
cartoon, Andrew Johnson
(left-center)
|