Reconstruction Acts

Definition

The Reconstruction Acts were a series of laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 1867, following the Civil War, to rebuild and readmit Southern states into the Union. These acts divided the South into five military districts, each governed by a Union general.

Related terms

Military Reconstruction Act: This was one of several measures during this period that divided ten Confederate states (excluding Tennessee) into five military districts under control of Union Army generals.

Radical Republicans: They were members of Congress who felt that Southern states needed to face severe punishment for their role in the Civil War. They played an instrumental role in passing these acts.

Fourteenth Amendment: An amendment ratified during this period that granted citizenship rights and equal protection under law to all persons born or naturalized in United States which included former slaves recently freed.