Military commanders administering reconstruction in the former Confederate states had been voicing frustration that their efforts mandated under the Military Reconstruction Act, especially where elections and registration for the vote were concerned. The increasingly radical United States Congress responded with a supplemental to the original bill that among other things, made it easier for commanders to remove as ineligible the former Confederates who were making their efforts impossible. The measure also appropriated a further million dollars to assist in reconstruction in the five military districts. President Johnson vetoed the measure but the Congress easily re-passed the bill on the same day and it became law. (By John Osborne)