Johnson,+Impeachment,+&+Radical+Republicans

Aim: How did the Reconstruction Plan affect African Americans?

Do Now: What was Reconstruction? _____________________________  ** Opposition of Johnson **

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States from 1865–1869. He presided over the Reconstruction era of the United States in the four years after the American Civil War. When the Civil War broke out, Johnson was a U.S. Senator from Greeneville in East Tennessee. A Unionist, he was the only Southern senator not to resign. In 1862, Lincoln appointed Johnson military governor of occupied Tennessee, where he was energetic and effective in fighting the rebellion. Johnson was nominated as the vice presidential candidate in 1864 on the National Union Party ticket.



Johnson succeeded to the presidency upon Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865. As president, he took charge of Reconstruction, but also vetoed civil rights bills which with Radical Republicans. In 1866 elections, Republicans held two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. As a result, Congress passed several Reconstruction Acts. It also passed a law limiting the president’s power to remove cabinet members without Senate approval.

Johnson would fire his secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, and Congress charged him with violating the Tenure of Office Act. This lead to an impeachment hearing, but the Senate kept Johnson in office by a single vote. ** The Black Codes ** Almost as soon as the southern states created new governments, they started to pass Black Codes. The

Black Codes were laws that greatly limited the freedom of African Americans. In fact, the codes

created working conditions that resembled slavery for African Americans. One example was not

allowing African Americans to vote, or own property**and Sharecropping – is a system of agriculture**

**in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced** **on the land.**

The Black codes angered many Republican who believed the South was return to its old ways. Congress would propose a bill to give more rights for African Americans. They wanted to guarantee African Americans the same legal rights as whites. Johnson would veto the proposal, but Congress overrode the veto. This proposal became the 14th Amendment. Republicans also believed that African Americans would support the Reconstruction Plan. To gain their votes, Republicans in Congress passed the 15th

Amendment, which guaranteed Africans Americans the right to vote. This amendment went into effect in 1870.

Follow-up Questions


 * 1) Why were black codes passed?
 * 2) Why do you think Johnson vetoed many civil right bills?
 * 3) After the 15th Amendment was ratified, which Americans were still not allowed to vote?

4. How did the Radical Republicans help African Americans in the south?

5. What is sharecropping?