Editing Reconstruction Acts (section)

== Background ==
{{See also|Reconstruction era}}
Throughout the [[American Civil War]], the [[Union army]] confronted the challenges of administering captured territory and establishing loyal civilian governments. Within the Union government and officer corps, there was disagreement over the legal nature and consequences of [[Secession in the United States|secession]], the conditions for recognition of civilian governments, and the desirability or necessity of social reform in the South. In practice, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] and the Army implemented reconstruction policies which were deemed most conducive to military aims. Lincoln instituted a lenient "[[ten percent plan]]" in December 1863 and vetoed the more radical [[Wade–Davis Bill]]. For a time, Congress had seated members from the reconstructed governments of Virginia, Louisiana, and Tennessee, but this practice ended abruptly upon the start of the [[38th United States Congress|38th Congress]] in December 1863.{{Sfn|Currie|2008|p=384}}

After the [[Conclusion of the American Civil War|conclusion of hostilities]] and [[assassination of Abraham Lincoln]] in April 1865, Vice President [[Andrew Johnson]] succeeded Lincoln as president. Johnson prioritized reconciliation and reunion with the defeated [[Confederate States of America]], provided that the new reconstructed governments repudiated secession, slavery, and debts incurred by the Confederate government. He [[pardons for ex-Confederates|pardoned a number of Confederate civilian and military leaders]] and did not press for social reform in the South, permitting civilian governments to restrict the rights of [[free people of color]] ("freedmen") in the form of discriminatory "[[Black Codes (United States)|Black Codes]]". By the start of the [[39th United States Congress|39th Congress]] in December 1865, reconstructed governments were functioning in eight of the eleven former Confederate states, seven of which had ratified the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] and several of which had sent representatives to Congress. However, the Clerk of the House refused to seat these representatives-elect, and Congress approved their exclusion after a complex debate on the legality of and remedy for secession.<ref>For a discussion of this debate, see {{Harvnb|Currie|2008|pp=385{{endash}}88}}.</ref> The 39th Congress passed several bills seeking to establish civil rights for freedmen, which Johnson vetoed. Hostilities between Johnson and the Congress, as well as more radical members of the administration he had inherited from Lincoln, grew through the course of 1866.

In the [[1866 United States elections|1866 midterm elections]], Johnson [[Swing Around the Circle|publicly campaigned for his reconstruction policies]]; the speaking tour backfired badly, and radicals in Congress greatly expanded their majority. Even before the start of the [[40th United States Congress|40th Congress]], Republicans sought to supplant Johnson's authority over reconstruction, and radicals in the new Congress soon [[First impeachment inquiry into Andrew Johnson|sought his impeachment and removal from office]].

In parallel to the political conflict between Johnson and Congress and in response to objections to the constitutionality of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1866]], Congress proposed the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] for ratification.