The United States government is separated into three branches: the Congress, the Presidency and the Judiciary headed by the Supreme Court. The writers of the Constitution adopted this "separation of powers" principle to prevent one person or one part of the government from becoming too strong and possibly dictatorial.
In the election of 1864, Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, chose Senator Andrew Johnson, a Tennessee Democrat, as his vice-presidential running mate. Lincoln believed that Johnson, the only senator from a rebel state to remain loyal to the Union, would help persuade Democrats to vote Republican.
After Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson took the oath of office on April 15, 1865. Two profound questions faced the nation. First, under what conditions should the Southern rebel states be readmitted into the Union? Second, what rights should the freedmen, or ex-slaves, have?
A little over a month after becoming president, Johnson began executing his plan for reconstructing the South. Johnson pardoned all rebels except Confederate leaders. He also restored all rebel property except for slaves. Finally, he authorized each rebel state to call a convention of white delegates to draw up a new constitution. Once completed, a new state government could then be formed, and the state could apply for readmission to the Union.
During the summer of 1865, the rebel states held their constitutional conventions, followed by elections to choose state and federal government representatives. None of the new state constitutions allowed the black freedmen to vote. President Johnson himself opposed the idea of ex-slaves voting. "It would breed a war of races," Johnson said.
When Congress finally met in early December, the Republicans, in control of both the House and Senate, expressed outrage. They saw the same men who had led the rebellion returning to power throughout the South. Worse still, the new Southern governments were passing "black codes," which made it difficult for freedmen to work in certain jobs, own land, or even quit a white employer. Most troubling to Republicans in Congress was that President Johnson had, on his own authority, established a reconstruction plan for the South. Many Republicans believed this was the job of Congress and Congress alone.
In early February 1866, the Republican Congress passed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill. It called for the distribution of land to the freedmen, provided schools for their children, and set up military courts in Southern states to protect freedmen's rights. But to the dismay of Republicans and the joy of most white Southerners, President Johnson vetoed the bill. He called it unconstitutional and too expensive. When Republicans failed to muster enough votes to override his veto, Johnson believed that he had won the battle over Reconstruction.
On Washington's birthday, a few days after he had vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, Johnson spoke to a crowd outside the White House. During the speech, he claimed that "new rebels" in the North were plotting to take over the government. He charged that some members of Congress were as traitorous as Jefferson Davis, the Confederate leader. "Give us the names!" a voice in the crowd shouted. Johnson named three Republican leaders of Congress. Republicans in Congress reacted angrily. The opposition started to solidify against "King Andy," as some began to call the president.
In March 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill. It declared ex-slaves to be U.S. citizens and gave them the right to make contracts, sue, be witnesses in court, and own land. Again Johnson used his veto. He stated in his veto message that blacks were not qualified for citizenship and the proposed bill would "operate in favor of the colored and against the white race." The Republicans, abandoning all hope of working with the Democratic president, overrode his veto by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. For the first time in American history, Congress overturned a presidential veto.
