Charles Oscar Paullin, Reconstruction Act, March 2, 1867, Vote on Passage Over President's Veto (1932)

In February, 1867, Congress approved the First Reconstruction Act outlining how Confederate States could rejoin the Union and gain representation in Congress. President Andrew Johnson, who had implemented a lenient policy of Reconstruction when he took office in 1865 vetoed the bill. However, Congress overrode Johnson's veto and the First Reconstruction Act became law on March 2, 1867. This map, created by Charles Oscar Pullin and included in the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States, shows how district representatives voted on the Reconstruction Act of 1867, with blue representing votes in favor of the Act and yellow representing votes against the Act. The seceded states are labeled as unreconstructed and weren’t included in the vote. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the former Confederate States (except Tennessee) into five military districts, required them to write a new constitution, which needed to be approved by a majority of the state's voters, including African Americans, and required them to ratify the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.