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Civil Rights Act of 1886
To combat the black codes, Radical Repub.icans pushed the Civil Rights act of 1866 through Congress. This law gave the federal government power to get involved in state affairs to protect African American's rights. It also granted citizenship to African Americans. This act was meant to counter the Supreme Court decision in the 1857 case Dred Scott V. Sandford. The Supreme Court had ruled that African Americans were not citizens. -
Black Codes
By early 1866, legislatures in the Southern states had passed laws called black codes. These laws were designed to help control the newly freed African Americans. some black codes made it illegal for african Americans to own or rent farms. The laws also made it easy for white employers to take advantage of African American workers. some black codes allowed officials to fine or even arrest African Americans who did not have jobs. -
Reconstruction Acts 1 and 2
by 1867, 10 of the former Confederate states had not ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. In responce, Congress passed the First Reconstruction Act. This law required that those states form new governments. Only Tennessee, which had ratified the amendmengt, kept its government and rejoined the Union. a second Reconstuction Act empowerd the army to register voters in each disrict and to help organise state constitutional conventions. -
14th Amendment
Congresss did worry that the courts might overturn the Civil Rights act. It proposed another amendment to the Constitution, which the states ratified in 1868. The Thirteen Amendment had ended slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment took the next step by stating that: "All persons born or naturalized in the United Staes, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." -
15th Amendment
most southern states had rejoined the Union by the time the presidential election of 1868 drew near. most Americans hoped that the turbulent period of reconstruction was over. The Republican Party rejected Jhonson and instead nominated Civil War hero Ulysses S. grant. The Democrats chose new York governer horatio seymour as their canadate. Most African American voters supported Grant, and he won the presidency.
