DiscoverHIST 119: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877Lecture 22 - Constitutional Crisis and Impeachment of a President
Lecture 22 - Constitutional Crisis and Impeachment of a President

Lecture 22 - Constitutional Crisis and Impeachment of a President

Update: 2017-08-25
Share

Description







Professor Blight continues his discussion of the political history of Reconstruction. The central figure in the early phase of Reconstruction was President Andrew Johnson. Under Johnson's stewardship, southern whites held constitutional conventions throughout 1865, drafting new constitutions that outlawed slavery but changed little else. When the Republican-dominated U.S. Congress reassembled late in 1865, they put a stop to Johnson's leniency and inaugurated Radical (or Congressional) Reconstruction, a process that resulted in the immediate passage of the Civil Rights bill and the Fourteenth Amendment, and the eventual passage of four Reconstruction Acts. The Congressional elections in 1866 and Johnson's disastrous "Swing Around the Circle" speaking tour strengthened Radical control over Congress. Each step of the way, Johnson did everything he could to obstruct Congressional Reconstruction, setting the stage for his impeachment in 1868.







Comments 
loading
In Channel
loading
00:00
00:00
1.0x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Lecture 22 - Constitutional Crisis and Impeachment of a President

Lecture 22 - Constitutional Crisis and Impeachment of a President

Open Yale Courses - David Blight