Presidential Biographies | Andrew Johnson Administration - Changes in the U.S. Government

Changes in the U.S. Government

Congress established temporary military districts to reestablish loyal state governments in an effort to streamline the process of Reconstruction (See also, Domestic Issues). These temporary military districts did not last as most of the states of the former Confederacy received readmission to Congress in 1868. White resistance to Reconstruction in Texas and Mississippi delayed their return until 1869 and 1870, respectively.

The Thirteenth and The Fourteenth Amendments

While President Lincoln had declared the slaves of the Confederate states to be free with his Emancipation Proclamation, there was still a need to formally alter the laws of the United States to make slavery illegal. To this end, Congress developed what would become the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Passed by Congress on January 31,...