Ben Snider, Lila Rakoczy, & Kelesy Bonnell, Military Reconstruction Districts (2024)

The Reconstruction Act was passed into law in March of 1867 after Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson’s veto of the act. This Act outlined the long process for readmission of Confederate states into the Union. One part of the Act required 10 of the former Confederate states to be divided into 5 Reconstruction districts that would be under federal military control and led by commanding generals. This map shows those 5 Military Reconstruction Districts. Tennessee was the only Confederate state exempted from the Military Districts because when the Act passed, it had already been readmitted to the Union. The map also includes the dates each state earned their readmission to the Union. The requirements each state had to meet for readmission included holding state conventions to write new constitutions, granting voting rights to men of all races, ratifying the 14th amendment, and approval by Congress.