Reconstruction Acts

First Reconstruction Act
Other short titles	First Military Reconstruction Act
Long title	An Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel States
Enacted by	the 39th United States Congress
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 39–153
Statutes at Large	15 Stat. 2
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House by John Bingham (R‑OH) on February 26, 1865; Committee consideration by Joint Select Committee on Reconstruction; Passed the House on February 13, 1867 (109–55); Passed the Senate on February 16, 1867 (29–10); Vetoed by President Andrew Johnson on March 2, 1867; Overridden by the Senate on March 2, 1867 (38–10); Overridden by the House and became law on March 2, 1867 (135–48);

The Reconstruction Acts, or the Military Reconstruction Acts, sometimes referred to collectively as the Reconstruction Act of 1867, were four landmark U.S. federal statutes enacted by the 39th and 40th United States Congresses over the vetoes of President Andrew Johnson from March 2, 1867 to March 11, 1868, establishing martial law in the Southern United States and the requirements for the readmission of those states which had declared secession at the start of the American Civil War. The requirements of the Reconstruction Acts were considerably more stringent than the requirements imposed by Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson between 1863 and 1867 and marked the end of that period of "presidential" reconstruction and the beginning of "congressional" or "radical" reconstruction.

The Acts did not apply to Tennessee, which had already ratified the 14th Amendment and had been readmitted to the Union on July 24, 1866.