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In March 1867 the Congress passed a Reconstruction Act that imposed its desired version of reconstruction on the South. Ten former Confederate states were grouped into five military districts. Each district was ruled by a military governor provided with
large powers to compel those states to set up conventions to amend their constitutions as to properly conform with the Constitution of the United States, including the Fourteenth Amendment.
After those stages had been completed, the aforesaid states would have been readmitted to the Union as well as their representatives in the Federal Congress.
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Devinthey were split up into 5 districts to keep control of the south especially New Orleans
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What act of 1867 divided the south into 5 military districts?
The Reconstruction Acts divided the south into five military districts. Each district was commanded by a general, which would serve as the acting government for the region.
Military Reconstruction Act?
The U.S. Congress, under the control of the Radical Republicans, passed the Military Reconstruction Act of 1867 on March 7, in spite of President Johnson's veto. This act sought to rebuild the governments of the southern states using the governments of the northern states as examples. It was also implemented to ensure that the civil rights of the free blacks in the South by requiring the states in the South to include the rights of free blacks in their constitutions. The Military Reconstruction Act divided the South into five military districts. Virginia became the first district, North Carolina and South Carolina the second district, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida the third district, Mississippi and Arkansas the fourth district, and Louisiana and Texas the fifth district. These territories were placed under the military control of the United States. The first military commanders had virtually unlimited power. The Military Reconstruction Act also required the southern states to elect new government officials. This is because following the Civil War, the representatives from the South that arrived in the capital to represent their states were the leaders of the Confederacy during the Civil War! The people that had been fighting the Union merely months before had shown up in Washington, D.C. to take their seats in the government. This created many problems because there was too much tension in the government between the southern representatives and the northern representatives. The final term of the Military Reconstruction Act was that the new southern state governments needed to pass the 14th Amendment (which defined citizenship and gave every citizen the right to due process). The Military Reconstruction Act is important to history for many reasons. This act was a way that the Radical Republicans in Congress could punish the southern states that had previously made up the Confederacy. It was also a way that they could ensure rights for the free blacks in the South. The southern Democrats at the end of the Civil War knew that once slavery was abolished, they would need a new way to control wealth and labor in the South so that they could, once again, be the most powerful and influential people in the South. To do this, they had passed "Black Codes", which limited the rights of the free blacks. These codes were different in each state, and they were strongly opposed by the Radical Republicans. The Military Reconstruction Act was a way that the Radical Republicans could ensure the free blacks certain rights, and also punish the southern states for their behavior before and during the Civil War.
What three events or trends that led to the collapse of Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War and why?
There were several events that led to the collapse of Reconstruction in the South. The first was the weakening and eventual end of the Freedman's' Bureau, which had acted as an advocate for the newly freed slaves on many levels. Next, was a weak president, Andrew Johnson, who appeased the former Confederate states by removing federal military districts. Another reason was the shift from the Radical Republican representation in Congress, to the Liberal/Republican party who were not as interested the plight of the newly freed slaves.
What date was the first Reconstruction Act?
March 2, 1867
Why was Reconstruction often called Radical Reconstruction?
Radical Reconstruction was the name of one of the phases of reconstruction: the one instigated by a faction that called themselves the Radical Republicans. The Radical Republicans who swept to power in 1866 considered the first phase of Reconstruction (called the Presidential Reconstruction since it was led by Presidents Lincoln and Johnson) too moderate. In 1873 white supremacist soutern Democrats who called themselves Redeemers returned to power and ended Reconstruction.
