Reconstruction Era Almanac | The Reconstruction Governments

• The Radicals' plan for Reconstruction
• John Roy Lynch: African American Legislator
• Robert Smalls: A Daring Deed, and a Stellar Career
• Developments in the North and the West
• Achievements and disappointments
• For More Information

The passage of the Reconstruction Acts by the U.S. Congress in 1867 set in motion a remarkable experiment. Because this legislation (passed over the objections of President Andrew Johnson [1808–1875; served 1865–69] and many white Southerners) guaranteed participation by all the citizens of the South—whether black or white—this experiment was truly revolutionary. For the...