The veto-proof Congressional majority wasted no time in passing a much harsher bill that changed the terms of Reconstruction for the Confederate states. They passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867. Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Click here to read its parts.

• The former Confederacy was divided into five military districts governed by a military official, except for Tennessee. (By 1867, Tennessee had ratified the 14th Amendment and even under the Radical Republican's terms was considered fully re-admitted to the Union.)
• The states had to rewrite their constitutions to include the right to vote for African-American males.
• All former rebels had to swear a loyalty oath to the United States in order to be eligible to vote.
• States must ratify the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to all people born in the United States and equal rights to all citizens, regardless of race.

Scenario: Based on the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which of the three victor’s choices from the first section of this resource did the Radical Republicans support?
Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Walk Away TRY AGAIN	Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Helping Hand TRY AGAIN	Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Kick "Em While Down Correct! The Radical Republican plan for Reconstruction by setting up military rule was much harsher to the South.

Map Activity

The following is a map of the South after the Reconstruction Act of 1867. It also shows the date that each state was formally readmitted into the Union and the date that the conservative whites re-established control over the state. Examine the map and answer the questions that follow in your notes.

Source: Military Reconstruction Map, University of North Carolina School of Education

1. By what year must Texas have ratified the 14th Amendment to the Constitution? Interactive popup. Assistance may be required.

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   Possible Answer: 1870. Texas was readmitted to the Union in 1870, so it must have ratified the 14th amendment by then, per the terms of the Reconstruction Act of 1867.
2. Why do you think the first military district is the only one that includes just one state?Interactive popup. Assistance may be required.

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   Possible Answer: The first military district is Virginia. It would have needed its own military governor for a few possible reasons, including its status as the capital state of the Confederacy and its proximity to Washington. However, the most likely reason was that Virginia was by far the most populous state in the Confederacy and needed its own military governor.
3. The military governor of District 5 was General Philip Sheridan who, along with U.S. Grant andInteractive popup. Assistance may be required. William T. Sherman, was one of the chief architects of the Union's Total War strategy during the Civil War. Why might Texans feel that the Reconstruction Act of 1867 was a particularly harsh "kicking while down?"
   
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   Possible Answer: Texas was part of District 5. Although Sheridan's "total war" actions, the taking of all food and supplies from an area leaving civilians to potentially starve, were mainly concentrated in Virginia, they certainly would have been aware of his conduct. Chances are, they would be angry that they would have to be ruled by someone that many thought to be a war criminal.

Impact of Congressional Reconstruction

Source: Hiram Rhodes Revels, Wikimedia

The new Congressional policies had an immediate effect. It dramatically opened up economic and political opportunity for freed slaves. Many freedmen were suddenly elected to office, includingInteractive popup. Assistance may be required. Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first African American chosen for the U.S. Senate.

Revels was elected Senator from Mississippi, taking the seat thatInteractive popup. Assistance may be required. Jefferson Davis had before the Civil War. Former slaves formed alliances with Northerners who moved to the South and Southerners who now declared themselves loyal to the United States.

The old Confederates deeply resented these developments and resented having Union generals rule them. They called the newly arrived Northern men "carpetbaggers" and the Southern men "scalawags," viewing the former as opportunists and the latter group as traitors.