The Reconstruction Acts

What were the Reconstruction Acts?

The Reconstruction Acts introduced new laws after the Civil War, during the Radical Reconstruction period.

When were the Reconstruction Acts passed?

The Reconstruction Acts were passed in 1867.

Why were the Reconstruction Acts introduced?

The Reconstruction Acts were put in place to protect people and their property, and to help organise the South. It was an effort to impose the northern way of life on the people of the South, and eventually to bring the South back into the United States.

What new laws did the Reconstruction Acts introduce?

The Reconstruction Acts included a number of measures.

• ❖ They put the army in charge of ten southern states, dividing the South into five districts, each under the control of the military.
• ❖ Southern states had to pass the Fourteenth Amendment into law in order to rejoin the Union.
• ❖ They declared that all males, including African Americans, should be allowed to participate in the election of state governments.