THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE RADICAL REPUBLICANS

The Radical Republicans soon began to implement their own program for Reconstruction in the South. Although they differed on tactics, all agreed that their main goal in the South should be to advance the political, economic, and social position of the freed men, or former slaves. In early 1865 Congress passed legislation creating the Freeman’s Bureau, which was designed to help ex-slaves get employment, education, and general assistance as they adjusted to their new lives. By 1866 large numbers of freedmen were back on their original plantations (often against the advice of the Freeman’s Bureau), working as tenant farmers. Under programs established by the Freeman’s Bureau, ex-slaves could receive “40 acres and a mule.”

Some Radical Republicans, such as Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, stated that the ex-slave’s position would improve the quickest in the South if they were given the vote. Thaddeus Stevens felt that black voters would be strongly influenced by wealthy landowners who oftentimes employed them, and stated that the first goal of the federal government should be to take land from former Confederate leaders and give it to the freedmen. A Joint Committee on Reconstruction first met in January 1866.

The Joint Committee proposed, and the Congress passed, a bill authorizing the continuation of the Freeman’s Bureau and a Civil Rights bill early in 1866. Johnson immediately vetoed both, stating they were unconstitutional and emphasizing the need to allow former Confederates to have more of a say in affairs in the South. It is at this point that tensions between the Congress and the president began to increase severely. Johnson gave a Washington’s Birthday speech where he claimed the Radical Republicans were traitors and actually wanted to kill him.

Congress eventually overrode the presidential veto of both of these bills. Johnson’s actions and demeanor were causing many moderate Republicans to join forces with the radical branch of the party. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted freedmen all the benefits of federal citizenship and promised that federal courts would uphold these rights. In cases where these rights were violated, federal troops would be used for enforcement. The Civil Rights Act also helped to enforce the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which had been ratified in December 1865 and outlawed slavery and other forms of involuntary servitude.

The Fourteenth Amendment was passed by the Congress and sent to the states for ratification. The amendment declared that citizenship would be the same in all states, that states that did not give freedmen the vote would have reduced representation in the Congress, and that former Confederate officials could not hold public office. Anti-black riots in New Orleans and Memphis in early 1866 caused the Radical Republicans to push for the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment even more forcefully. President Johnson publicly opposed the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, Radical Republicans won by large margins in the 1866 congressional elections. After these elections, the Radical Republicans began to dictate the course of Reconstruction in the South.