January 1866 |
Freedmen’s Bureau Bill:
On January 5, Republican Senator Lyman
Trumbull of Illinois introduced a bill to extend the life and expand the powers
of the Freedmen’s Bureau. An amended version was approved by the Judiciary
Committee, which Trumbull chaired, and reported to the full Senate on January
11.
Civil Rights Bill:
On January 5, Senator Trumbull introduced a bill
making denial of civil rights a federal crime. After approval by the Judiciary
Committee, which Trumbull chaired, the bill was reported to the full Senate on
January 11. On February 1, Trumbull added a citizenship clause to the bill. |
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February 1866 |
Veto of Freedmen’s Bureau Bill:
The Freedmen’s Bureau Bill was passed
by the Senate on January 25 and the House on February 6. President Andrew
Johnson disposed of it on February 19 with a veto, which the Senate failed the
next day to override with a two-thirds majority. On February 23, Republican
Congressman James Wilson of Iowa introduced a new Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, which
was referred to the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. |
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April 1866 |
Override of Civil Rights Act Veto:
The Civil Rights Bill was passed
by the Senate on February 2 and the House on March 13. President Andrew
Johnson’s veto on March 27 broke the already strained working relationship
between the president and Republican moderates, who thereafter joined with
Radical Republicans to oppose Johnson’s Reconstruction policies. The Civil
Rights Bill then passed with two-thirds majorities in the Senate on April 6 and
House on April 9, and became law.
This was the first time in American history that Congress had overridden a
presidential veto. |
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May 1866 |
Memphis Race Riot:
On May 1-4, a race riot in Memphis, Tennessee,
left 46 blacks and two whites dead, five black women raped, and hundreds of
black homes, schools, and churches vandalized or destroyed by arson. |
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June 1866 |
Congressional Passage of Fourteenth Amendment:
On April 21,
Congressman Thaddeus Stevens introduced a plan to combine the various proposals
into the Fourteenth Amendment, which the committee approved on April 28. It
received a two-thirds majority in the House on May 10. Republican Senator Jacob
Howard of Michigan added a citizenship clause, which was approved by the Senate
on May 31. The Senate passed the Fourteenth Amendment with a two-thirds
majority on June 8. The House approved the Senate substitute measure on June
13, and Secretary of State William Henry Seward officially submitted the
Fourteenth Amendment to the states on June 16 for ratification or rejection.
Ratification Process:
On June 25, Connecticut became the first state
to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment. |
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July 1866 |
Ratification Process:
New Hampshire and Tennessee ratified the
Fourteenth Amendment on July 6 and July 19, respectively.
Override of Freedmen’s Bureau Bill Veto:
The House passed the new
Freedmen’s Bureau Bill on May 29, and the Senate passed an amended version on
June 26. A joint conference committee proposed a compromise measure, which
passed both chambers on July 3. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Freedmen’s
Bureau Bill on July 16, but Congress overrode the veto with a two-thirds vote in
both chambers that same day.
Tennessee Readmitted:
In response to Tennessee’s ratification of the
Fourteenth Amendment, a congressional joint resolution readmitting the state
back into full and equal status in the Union was approved by the U.S. Senate on
July 21 and the U.S. House on July 23.
New Orleans Race Riot:
On July 30, 1866, white delegates and black supporters assembled in New Orleans,
Louisiana, for a state constitutional convention aimed at enfranchising black
men and disfranchising former Confederates. A fight on the street outside
the hall escalated into a riot, which left 34 blacks and three white Republicans
dead, and over 100 others injured. |
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August 1866 |
National Union Convention:
On August 14-16, President Andrew Johnson
and his supporters met in Philadelphia hoping to create a new political party
composed of Democrats and conservative Republicans and dedicated to upholding
states’ rights.
Swing Around the Circle:
Following the National Union Convention,
President Johnson and key administration figures traveled from August 28 to
September 15 on a campaign speaking tour across the nation called the “swing
around the circle.” It was a public-relations fiasco, undermining popular and
congressional support for the president. |
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September 1866 |
Ratification Process:
New Jersey and Oregon ratified the Fourteenth
Amendment on September 11 and September 19, respectively. |
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October 1866 |
Ratification Process:
Vermont ratified the Fourteenth Amendment on
October 30 |
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November 1866 |
State and Congressional Elections:
Success in state elections gave
Republicans control of enough legislatures to gain 18 seats in the U.S. Senate
(state legislatures elected U.S. senators until ratification of the Seventeenth
Amendment in 1913). In the congressional elections, Republican picked up 37
seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a result, Republican majorities
in the upcoming 40th Congress (March 1867–March 1869) were more than
enough to override presidential vetoes. |
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