In 1866 only five states allowed black men full suffrage. Seeking to expand African American voting rights, Radical Republicans sponsored a bill that would enfranchise blacks living in the District of Columbia.
Benjamin M. Boyer, a Democratic representative from Pennsylvania, was one of the politicians who spoke out against the bill. In Boyer’s opinion, Radical Republicans misinterpreted Thomas Jefferson’s declaration that “all men are created equal.” According to Boyer, the Founding Fathers and the authors of several state constitutions had no intention of extending...
Source: Reconstruction, ©2003-10-17 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 1977 words.)
Want to read the whole thing?
Subscribe now to read the rest of this article. Plus, get access to:
- 30,000+ literature study guides
- Critical essays on more than 30,000 works of literature from Salem on Literature (exclusive to eNotes)
- An unparalleled literary criticism section. 40,000 full-length or excerpted essays.
- Content from leading academic publishers, all easily citable with our "Cite this page" button.
- 100% satisfaction guarantee READ MORE
