Reconstruction Acts of 1867

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20 Reconstruction Acts of 1867
20 Reconstruction Acts of 1867

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Abstract

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 (one act with two amendments) are packages of federal laws that reset the process of bringing the former Confederate states back into the Union. Congress began by asserting that “no legal State governments” or adequate protection for life and property exists in the ten “rebel” states. This act does not pertain to former Confederate state, Tennessee, that had already ratified the Fourteenth Amendment and rejoined the Union. On that declaration, Congress divided the remaining ten Confederate states into five military districts, each under a different Union army general with “a sufficient military force” and budget to preserve order and protect people and property.

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