Reconstruction Amendments

Date Event
In Washington, the U.S. Senate passes the proposed 13th Amendment to the Constitution, 38-6.
At the U.S. Capitol, debate begins in the House on the proposed 13th Amendment to the Constitution
At the U.S. Capitol, the vote in the House on the proposed 13th Amendment to the Constitution fails
In a proclamation, President Lincoln explains why he refuses to sign the Wade-Davis Bill on Reconstruction
In Nashville, famed abolitionist William "Parson" Brownlow is inaugurated as 17th Governor of Tennessee
North Carolina ratifies the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery
Charles Jones Jenkins is inaugurated as the first post-Civil War elected governor of Georgia
The Thirteenth Amendment outlawing slavery is announced as now the law of the land.
In Iowa, Governor William Stone begins his second term and endorses African-American suffrage
In Trenton, Republican stalwart Marcus Ward is inaugurated as the twenty-first governor of New Jersey
With Republicans taking power in New Jersey, the New York Times announces the state's "Reconstruction"
In New Jersey, the state legislature finally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment
In Indianapolis, the Indiana Democratic Party holds its state convention
In Washington, the U.S. Senate votes to over-ride the presidential veto of the Civil Rights Bill
In Washington, House of Representatives votes to overturn the presidential veto of the Civil Rights Bill
In Hartford, the Connecticut Legislature votes to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
"Conservative Republicans" of Iowa meet in convention in Des Moines.
In Concord, the New Hampshire Legislature votes to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
In Nashville, the Tennessee state house votes to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
In Nashville, the Tennessee state senate votes fifteen to six to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
Postmaster-General William Dennison resigns from the Johnson Cabinet over policy differences.
Uncomfortable with President Johnson's policies, U.S. Attorney General James Speed resigns.
In Nashville, a special session of the Tennessee Legislature votes to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
Governor Ward of New Jersey calls a special legislative session to consider the 14th Amendment.
New Jersey ratifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In Salem, Oregon, a divided state legislature narrowly ratifies the Fourteenth Amendment.
Texas become the first state to reject ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.
By almost unanimous legislation, Vermont becomes the sixth state to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment
In Milledgeville, Georgia becomes the second state to reject the Fourteenth Amendment.
Governor Orr of South Carolina calls for South Carolina's rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Florida legislature votes unanimously to reject ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In Montgomery, the Alabama legislature votes overwhelmingly to reject the Fourteenth Amendment.
In Raleigh, the North Carolina legislature rejects the Fourteenth Amendment by a large margin.
In Little Rock, Arkansas legislative committees decline a vote on the Fourteenth Amendment.
In Columbia, the South Carolina legislature overwhelmingly rejects the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Ohio Senate takes up and passes on a party-line vote the bill to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
Veterans from across the country meet in Philadelphia at the Colored Soldiers' and Sailors' Convention.
- The National Convention of Colored Men meets for three days in Washington, D.C.
United States Capitol, Washington DC
Date Title
Theodore M. Pomeroy to Elizabeth L.W. Pomeroy, February 1, 1865
Andrew Johnson, "Message to Congress respecting the condition of affairs in the Southern States," December 18, 1865
William Henry Seward, Announcement of the Ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, December 18, 1865, Washington, DC
Andrew Johnson, Speech before Washington's Birthday Meeting, Washington, D.C., February 22, 1866
Andrew Johnson, Civil Rights Bill Veto Message, March 27, 1866
An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and to furnish the means for their Vindication, April 9, 1866
Conclusions, Majority Report of the Joint Committee of the United States Senate and House of Representatives on Reconstruction, June 8, 1866, Washington, D.C.
Conclusions, Majority Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, U.S. Congress, June 16, 1866
Resolution of the "Conservative Republicans" in Convention, Des Moines, Iowa, June 28, 1866.
Resolutions, Democratic Party of Central and Eastern Pennsylvania in Convention, Reading, Pennsylvania, July 18, 1866.
Resolutions, Republican Party of Illinois in Convention, August 8, 1866, Springfield, Illinois
United States Congress, "An Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel States," March 2, 1867.
How to Cite This Page: "Reconstruction Amendments," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/36587.