First Reconstruction Act - March 2, 1867 - legislative text

Oct 16, 2026

Uploaded by Franzy

First Reconstruction Act dated March 2, 1867 establishes a federal military framework for the former Confederate “rebel States,” dividing them into five military districts and placing each under U.S. military authority. It assigns the President the duty to appoint district commanders and sufficient forces, sets requirements for suppressing disorder and punishing offenders, and limits harsh treatment. It also provides trial timelines, approval requirements for sentences affecting life or liberty, and a process for restoring civil governance once states form constitutions meeting federal criteria.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Provisions and Structure

Military districts and U.S. military authority

Duties of commanders and handling of offenders

Trials, punishment limits, and sentence approvals

Conditions for state constitutional restoration

Provisional civil governments and voting eligibility

First Reconstruction Act March 2, 1867 An Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel States WHEREAS no legal State governments or adequate protection for life or property now exists in the rebel States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Arkansas; and whereas it is necessary that peace and good order should be enforced in said States until loyal and republican State governments can be legally established: Therefore, Be it enacted . . ., That said rebel States shall be divided into military districts and made subject to the military authority of the United States as hereinafter prescribed, and for that purpose Virginia shall constitute the first district; North Carolina and South Carolina the second district; Georgia, Alabama, and Florida the third district; Mississippi and Arkansas the fourth district; and Louisiana and Texas the fifth district. SECTION 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the President to assign to the command of each of said districts an officer of the army, not below the rank of brigadier-general, and to detail a sufficient military force to enable such officer to perform his duties and enforce his authority within the district to which he is assigned. SECTION 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of each officer assigned as aforesaid, to protect all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress insurrection, disorder, and violence, and to punish, or cause to be punished, all disturbers of the public peace and criminals; and to this end he may allow local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of and to try offenders, or, when in his judgment it may be necessary for the trial of offenders, he shall have power to organize military commissions or tribunals for that purpose, and all interference under color of State authority with the exercise of military authority under this act, shall be null and void. SECTION 4. And be it further enacted, That all persons put under military arrest by virtue of this act shall be tried without unnecessary delay, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted, and no sentence of any military commission or tribunal hereby authorized, affecting the life or liberty of any person, shall be executed until it is approved by the officer in command of the district, and the laws and regulations for the government of the army shall not be affected by this act, except in so far as they conflict with its provisions: Provided, That no sentence of death under the provisions of this actshall be carried into effect without the approval of the President. SECTION 5. And be it further enacted, That when the people of any one of said rebel States shall have formed a constitution of government in conformity with the Constitution of the United States in all respects, framed by a convention of delegates elected by the male citizens of said State, twenty-one years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or previous condition, who have been resident in said State for one year previous to the day of such election, except such as may be disfranchised for participation in the rebellion or for felony at common law, and when such constitution shall provide that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed by all persons as have the qualifications herein stated for electors of delegates, and when such constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the persons voting on the question of ratification who are qualified as electors for delegates, and when such constitution shall have been submitted to Congress for examination and approval, and Congress shall have approved the same, and when said State, by a vote of its legislature elected under said constitution, shall have adopted the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress, and known as article fourteen and when said article shall have become a part

FAQs

When do the earlier sections become inoperative for a state?

When a rebel state forms an approved constitution under specified federal requirements, submits it to Congress, adopts the proposed Fourteenth Amendment, and thereby becomes entitled to representation in Congress, after which the preceding sections no longer operate for that state.

Oct 16, 2026

Uploaded by Franzy