Reconstruction and the Constitution, 1866-1876

by John William Burgess

CHAPTER III

PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S PLAN OF RECONSTRUCTION AND HIS PROCEEDINGS IN REALIZATION OF IT

[The Character of Mr. Johnson]—[The Radical Nature of Johnson's First Views on Reconstruction]—[The Retention of Lincoln's Cabinet by Mr. Johnson and the Modification of Johnson's Views by Mr. Seward's Arguments]—[Johnson's Amnesty Proclamation of May 29th, 1865]—[The Excepted Classes]—[The Effect of these Exceptions]—[The President's Plan]—[The Realization of it—The Administering of the Oath]—[Reconstruction in North Carolina]—[The Identity of Johnson's Plan with that of Lincoln]—[Reconstruction in Mississippi—Reconstruction in Georgia—Reconstruction in Alabama, South Carolina and Florida]—[Reconstruction in Virginia]—[Reconstruction in Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee]—[The Constitutional Conventions of 1865]—[The Form of the Work Done in these Conventions, and its Substance]—[The Erection of "State" Governments and the Election of Members of Congress]—[The Orders of the President Putting the Civil Government of the United States into Operation Everywhere]—[The President's First Annual Message].

Mr. Johnson was a man who rose from very low estate through his own efforts. He was a man of considerable intellectual power and of great

The character
of Mr. Johnson.

With such a history behind him, and such a disposition impelling him, it is not to be wondered at that his policy in regard to Reconstruction

The radical
nature of Johnson's
first views on
Reconstruction.

Mr. Johnson retained Lincoln's Cabinet, and among them the conciliatory and persuasive Seward, who, in about six weeks from the night of the

The retention of
Lincoln's Cabinet
by Mr. Johnson, and
the modification
of Johnson's views
by Mr. Seward's
arguments.

On the 29th of May, he issued his proclamation of amnesty and pardon to all persons who, having engaged in rebellion, had failed to take the

Johnson's Amnesty
Proclamation of
May 29, 1865.

He, however, excepted the following classes of persons from the benefits of the offer: 1st. Those who held or had held, under the

The excepted
classes.

2d. Those who had left seats in the Congress of the United States or judicial stations under the United States to aid in the rebellion against the United States, and those who had resigned or tendered resignations of their commissions in the army or navy of the United States to evade duty in resisting the rebellion;

3d. Those who had, in any way, treated persons found in the service of the United States, in any capacity, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war;

4th. Those who had been engaged in destroying the commerce of the United States on the high seas, or upon the lakes and rivers separating the British Provinces from the United States, or in making raids from Canada into the United States;

5th. Those who were, or had been, absent from the United States, or had left their homes within the jurisdiction of the United States, and passed beyond the military lines of the United States into the pretended Confederate States, for the purpose of aiding the rebellion;

6th. Those who, at the time they might seek to obtain the benefits of the proclamation by taking the oath, were prisoners of war, or under civil or criminal arrest, and those who had taken the oath of allegiance to the United States since December 8, 1863, and had failed to keep it;

And, finally, those who had voluntarily participated in any way in the rebellion and were the owners of taxable property to the value of more than twenty thousand dollars.

These exceptions would have shut out almost all of the leading men of most of the "States" that passed secession ordinances from the benefits

The effect
of these
exceptions.

Briefly, the President proposed to pardon the rebel leaders, upon special personal application, as an act of high executive grace, and to

The President's plan
in a sentence.

In the first place, the machinery for administering the cleansing oath was made very simple and accessible. Any commissioned officer, civil,

The realization of it.
The administering
of the oath.

In the second place, and by a second proclamation, issued on the same day, May 29th, the President appointed a Provisional Governor for North

Reconstruction in
North Carolina.

This second proclamation also commanded the heads of the departments of the United States Government to put the laws of the United States into operation in North Carolina, the United States judges to open the United States courts and proceed to business, and the military officers in the district to aid the Provisional Governor in carrying the duties assigned to him into effect, and to abstain from hindering, impeding, or discouraging, in any manner, the organization of a "State" government as authorized by the proclamation.

It will thus be seen that Mr. Johnson's plan of Reconstruction was in substance the same as that of Mr. Lincoln. It rested upon the theory of

The identity
of Johnson's
plan with that
of Lincoln.

On the 13th of June, the President issued a proclamation of like tenor and containing similar orders for putting the laws of the United States

Reconstruction
in Mississippi,
Georgia, Alabama,
South Carolina
and Florida.

Already on May 9th, twenty days before the issue of his proclamation of amnesty, the President had issued an executive order putting the laws

Reconstruction
in Virginia.

Of course Mr. Johnson recognized the reconstruction of Louisiana,

Reconstruction
in Louisiana,
Arkansas and
Tennessee.

During the summer, autumn and early winter of 1865, the Provisional Governors of Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina,

The constitutional
conventions of 1865.

These bodies chose to do their work in the form of amendments to the old constitutions of the "States," whose constituent powers they

The form of the
work done in these
conventions, and
its substance.

Before the meeting of Congress also, elections of the members of the respective "State" legislatures and of "State" officers, and of the

The erection of
"State" governments
and the election of
Members of Congress.

During the same period, the President had by his several proclamations and orders declared the cessation of armed resistance, the restoration

The orders of the
President putting the
civil Government
of the United States
into operation
everywhere.

This was the situation when Congress met on the first Monday of December, and received President Johnson's first annual Message. This

The President's
first annual
Message.

Finally, this paper contained the official notice to Congress that the President had admitted the reconstructed "States"—and that would mean all that had passed the secession ordinance, except perhaps Texas, whose convention did not assemble until March of 1866—to participate in amending the Constitution of the United States. The President concluded his narration and argumentation upon this all-important subject in these words: "The amendment to the Constitution being adopted, it will remain for the States whose powers have been so long in abeyance to resume their places in the two branches of the National Legislature, and thereby complete the work of restoration. Here it is for you, fellow citizens of the Senate, and for you, fellow citizens of the House of Representatives, to judge, each of you for yourselves, of the elections, returns and qualifications of your own members."

It is entirely evident from all this that the President denied the power of the Houses of Congress, either separately or jointly, to prevent the Senators and Representatives from the reconstructed "States" from taking their seats upon any other grounds than defects in the election and return, or in the personal qualifications, of the particular persons under consideration.