Lincoln is assassinated.
Democrat Andrew Johnson becomes president.
Various states enact Black Codes.
Congress forms the Freedmen’s Bureau. It is organized to help ex-slaves with food, medical care, resettlement, and education.
1866
The Civil Rights Bill is enacted by Congress. Johnson vetoes the bill, but Congress overrides his veto. The Act gave blacks the rights and privileges of full citizenship. It counteracts Black Codes.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is proposed by Congress. It provides blacks with citizenship and guarantees that federal and state laws should be applied equally to black and white citizens.
A black cavalry and regiment are created by the U.S. Army.
Emancipation is celebrated at the U.S. capitol by 15,000 people.
A group of whites in Tennessee found the Ku Klux Klan.
1867
The first, second and third Reconstruction Acts are passed. The time known as “Radical Reconstruction” begins. Congress provides that Southern states will not be readmitted to the Union until they ratified the 14th Amendment. All of the states, except Tennessee, refused to do so. All of the southern states, with the exclusion of Tennessee, are divided into five military districts.
Howard University is founded.
1868
The 14th Amendment is ratified.
South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana each ratify the 14th Amendment and are readmitted to the Union.
A black majority is elected to the South Carolina legislature.
A fourth Reconstruction Act is passed.
1869
Ulysses S. Grant is elected President.
In Tennessee, an all white Democratic “Redeemer” government is created.
1870
The 15th Amendment is enacted. It gives black males the right to vote. Despite this right, some Southern states add grandfather clauses to their state Constitutions to counter this new right. Typical clauses state that the right to vote extends only to citizens or their descendants who had the right to vote prior to 1866 or 1867.
Hiram Rhoades Revels is the first black elected to the U.S. Senate and Joseph Hayne Rainey becomes the first black elected U.S. Representative.
Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, and Georgia are readmitted to the Union.
Virginia and North Carolina form “Redeemer” governments.
1871
Georgia forms a “Redeemer” government.
The Ku Klux Klan Act is passed. It gives the federal government power to punish violators of civil rights laws.
1872
The Freedmen’s Bureau is terminated.
The Amnesty Act is passed. It removes the restrictions placed on Confederate office-holders.
1874
Arkansas and Alabama form “Redeemer” governments.
Democrats gain control over the House of Representatives and the Senate.
1875
Mississippi forms a “Redeemer” government.
The Civil Rights Act is passed. It gives blacks equal access to public accommodations.
1877
Republican Rutherford B. Hayes becomes president. The Compromise of 1877 allows for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.
Reconstruction ends.
