This Week in Reconstruction, April 9-15, 1866

This Week in Reconstruction, April 9-15, 1866

The proposed Civil Rights bill receives a veto from President Johnson but the House and Senate resist Johnson's effort. The two houses of Congress garner enough support to pass the bill despite the President's veto. The Dispatch and its conservative audience are appalled by the lack of support for the President and look to criticize the Radicals for their "evil" plans that will "surely not help anyone". Nearly immediately after its passage, the bill has already been called into action in Indiana. A court case between a white man and a black man calls Indiana's State Constitution into question as it denies freedmen the right to enforce contracts as well as enter the state of Indiana. The new Civil Rights bill, however, guaranteed the freedman the rights to do so and the court ruled in favor of the freedman in order to avoid a federal penalty. Tensions rise as conservatives feel that they are losing power while freedmen gain it.

April 9-15, 1866

Justin Barlow

Barlow-Week-13