March 1867

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 divided the ten unreconstructed Southern states into five military districts, required new state constitutions guaranteeing Black male suffrage, and mandated ratification of the 14th Amendment as a condition of readmission. This produced the most democratic governments the South had yet seen: between 1868 and 1876, over 1,500 Black men held public office in the South including two U.S. senators and fourteen representatives. The Acts were passed over Johnson's vetoes and represented the high-water mark of federal commitment to Black civil rights in the 19th century.

Congress divides the South into military districts and requires new constitutions with Black male suffrage — opening the door to Black political power.