1. March 3, 1867
An Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel States (Passed over President Johnson's veto) 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 by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 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.
Sec. 2
And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the President to assign to the command of each of the 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.
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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 act shall be
carried into effect without the approval of the President.
Sec. 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 such 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 such
article shall have become a part of the Constitution of the United States, said State shall be declared entitled to representation
in Congress, and senators and representatives shall be admitted therefrom on their taking the oath prescribed by law, and
then and thereafter the preceding sections of this act shall be inoperative in said State Provided, That no person excluded
from the privilege of holding office by said proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, shall be eligible
to election as a member of the convention to frame a constitution for any of said rebel States, nor shall any such person
vote for members of such convention.
Sec. 6
And be it further enacted, That, until the people of said rebel States shall be by law admitted to representation in the
Congress of the United States, any civil governments which may exist therein shall be deemed provisional only, and in all
respects subject to the paramount authority of the United States at any time to abolish, modify, control, or supersede the
same; and in all elections to any office under such provisional governments all persons shall be entitled to vote, and none
others, who are entitled to vote under the provisions of the fifth section of this act; and no person shall be eligible to
any office under any provisional governments who would be disqualified from holding office under the provisions of the third
article of said constitutional amendment.
2. March 23, 1867
An Act supplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel States," passed
March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and to facilitate Restoration (Passed over President Johnson's veto) Be it
enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That before the
first day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the commanding general in each district defined by an act entitled
"An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven,
shall cause a registration to be made of the male citizens of the United States, twenty-one years of age and upwards, resident
in each county or parish in the State or States included in his district, which registration shall include only those persons
who are qualified to vote for delegates by the act aforesaid, and who shall have taken and subscribed the following oath or
affirmation "I, __me___, do solemnly swear (or affirm), in the presence of Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State
of _____; that I have resided in said State for _____ months next preceding this day, and now reside in the county of _____
or the parish of _____, in said State (as the case may be); that I am twenty-one years old; that I have not be disfranchised
for participation in any rebellion or civil war against the United States, nor for felony committed against the laws of any
State or of the United States; that I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any executive or judicial
office in any State and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort
to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support
the Constitution of the United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given
aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I will faithfully support the Constitution and obey the laws of the United States,
and will to the best of my ability, encourage others so to do, so help me God"' which oath or affirmation may be administered
by any registering officer.
Sec. 2
And be it further enacted, That after the completion of the registration hereby provided for in any State, at such time
and places therein as the commanding general shall appoint and direct, of which at least thirty days' public notice shall
be given, an election shall be held of delegates to a convention for the purpose of establishing a constitution and civil
government for such State loyal to the Union, said convention in each State, except Virginia, to consist of the same number
of members as the most numerous branch of the State legislature of such State in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be
apportioned among the several districts, counties, or parishes of such State by the commanding general, giving to each representation
in the ratio of voters registered as aforesaid as nearly as may be. The convention in Virginia shall consist of the same number
of members as represented the territory now constituting Virginia in the most numerous branch of the legislature of said State
in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned as aforesaid.
Sec. 3
And be it further enacted, That at said election the registered voters of each State shall vote for or against a convention
to form a constitution therefor under this act. Those voting in favor of such a convention shall have written or printed on
the ballots by which they vote for delegates, as aforesaid, the words "For a convention," and those voting against such a
convention shall have written or printed on such ballots the words "Against a convention." The persons appointed to superintend
said election, and to make return of the votes given thereat, as herein provided, shall count and make return of the votes
given for and against a convention; and the commanding general to whom the same shall have been returned shall ascertain and
declare the total vote in each State for and against a convention. If a majority of the votes given on that question shall
be for a convention, then such convention shall be held as hereinafter provided; but if a majority of said votes shall be
against a convention, then no such convention shall be held under this act Provided, That such convention shall not be held
unless a majority of all such registered voters shall have voted on the question of holding such convention.
Sec. 4
And be it further enacted, That the commanding general of each district shall appoint as many boards of registration as
may be necessary, consisting of three loyal officers or persons, to make and complete the registration, superintend the election,
and make return to him of the votes, list of voters, and of the persons elected as delegates by a plurality of the votes cast
at said election; and upon receiving said returns he shall open the same, ascertain the persons elected as delegates,according
to the returns of the officers who conducted said election, make proclamation thereof; and if a majority of the votes given
on that question shall be for a convention, the commanding general, within sixty days from the date of election, shall notify
the delegates to assemble in convention, at a time and place to be mentioned in the notification, and said convention, when
organized, shall proceed to frame a constitution and civil government according to the provisions of this act, and the act
to which it is supplementary; and when the same shall have been so framed, said constitution shall be submitted by the convention
for ratification to the persons registered under the provisions of this act at an election to be conducted by the officers
or persons appointed or to be appointed by the commanding general, as hereinbefore provided, and to be held after the expiration
of thirty days from the date of notice thereof, to be given by said convention; and the returns thereof shall be made to the
commanding general of the district.
Sec. 5
And be it further enacted, That if, according to said returns, the constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the
votes of the registered electors qualified as herein specified, cast at said election, at least one half of all the registered
voters voting upon the question of such ratification, the president of the convention shall transmit a copy of the same, duly
certified, to the President of the United States, who shall forthwith transmit the same to Congress, if then in session, and
if not in session, then immediately upon its next assembling; and if it shall moreover appear to Congress that the election
was one at which all the registered and qualified electors in the State had an opportunity to vote freely and without restraint,
fear, or the influence of fraud, and if the Congress shall be satisfied that such constitution meets the approval of a majority
of all the qualified electors in the State, and if the said constitution shall be declared by Congress to be in conformity
with the provisions of the act to which this is supplementary, and the other provisions of said act shall have been complied
with, and the said constitution shall be approved by Congress, the State shall be declared entitled to representation, and
senators and representatives shall be admitted therefrom as therein provided.
Sec. 6
And be it further enacted, That all elections in the States mentioned in said "Act to provide for the more efficient government
of the rebel States," shall, during the operation of said act, be by ballot; and all officers making the said registration
of voters and conducting said elections shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, take and subscribe the
oath prescribed by the act approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office"
Provided, That if any person shall knowingly and falsely take and subscribe any oath in this act prescribed, such person so
offending and being thereof duly convicted shall be subject to the pains, penalties, and disabilities which by law are provided
for the punishment of the crime of willful and corrupt perjury.
Sec. 7
And be it further enacted, That all expenses incurred by the several commanding generals or by virtue of any orders issued,
or appointments made, by them, under or by virtue of this act, shall be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise
appropriated.
Sec. 8
And be it further enacted, That the convention for each State shall prescribe the fees, salary, and compensation to be
paid to all delegates and other officers and agents herein authorized or necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this
act not herein otherwise provided for, and shall provide for the levy and collection of such taxes on the property in such
State as may be necessary to pay the same.
Sec. 9
And be it further enacted, That the word "article," in the sixth section of the act to which this is supplementary,
shall be construed to mean "section."
3. July 19, 1867
An Act supplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel States," passed
on the second day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and the Act supplementary thereto, passed on the twenty-third
day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven (Passed over President Johnson's veto) Be it enacted by the Senate and House
of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it is hereby declared to have been the true
intent and meaning of the act of the second day of March, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, entitled "An act to
provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," and of the act supplementary thereto, passed on the twenty-third
day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, that the governments then existing in the rebel States
of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Arkansas were not
legal State governments; and that thereafter said governments, if continued, were to be continued subject in all respects
to the military commanders of the respective districts, and to the paramount authority of Congress.
Sec. 2
And be it further enacted, That the commander of any district named in said act shall have power, subject to the disapproval
of the General of the army of the United States, and to have effect till disapproved, whenever in the opinion of such commander
the proper administration of said act shall require it, to suspend or remove from office, or from the performance of official
duties and the exercise of official powers, any officer or person holding or exercising, or professing to hold or exercise,
any civil or military office or duty in such district under any power, election, appointment or authority derived from, or
granted by, or claimed under, any so-called State or the government thereof, or any municipal or other division thereof, and
upon such suspension or removal such commander, subject to the disapproval of the General as aforesaid, shall have power to
provide from time to time for the performance of the said duties of such officer or person so suspended or removed, by the
detail of some competent officer or soldier of the army, or by the appointment of some other person, to perform the same,
and to fill vacancies occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise.
Sec. 3
And be it further enacted, That the General of the army of the United Sates shall be invested with all the powers of suspension,
removal, appointment, and detail granted in the preceding section to district commanders.
Sec. 4
And be it further enacted, That the acts of the officers of the army already done in removing in said districts persons
exercising the functions of civil officers, and appointing others in their stead, are hereby confirmed Provided, That any
person heretofore or hereafter appointed by any district commander to exercise the functions of any civil office, may be removed
either by the military officer in command of the district, or by the General of the army. And it shall be the duty of such
commander to remove from office as aforesaid all persons who are disloyal to the government of the United States, or who use
their official influence in any manner to hinder, delay, prevent, or obstruct the due and proper administration of this act
and the acts to which it is supplementary.
Sec. 5
And be it further enacted, That the boards of registration provided for in the act entitled "An act supplementary to an
act entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States,' passed March two, eighteen hundred
and sixty-seven, and to facilitate restoration," passed March twenty-three, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, shall have power,
and it shall be their duty before allowing the registration of any person, to ascertain, upon such facts or information as
they can obtain, whether such person is entitled to be registered under said act, and the oath required by said act shall
not be conclusive on such question, and no person shall be registered unless such board shall decide that he is entitled thereto;
and such board shall also have power to examine, under oath, (to be administered by any member of such board,) any one touching
the qualification of any person claiming registration; but in every case of refusal by the board to register an applicant,
and in every case of striking his name from the list as hereinafter provided, the board shall make a note or memorandum, which
shall be returned with the registration list to the commanding general of the district, setting forth the grounds of such
refusal or such striking from the list Provided, That no person shall be disqualified as member of any board of registration
by reason of race or color.
Sec. 6
And be it further enacted, That the true intent and meaning of the oath prescribed in said supplementary act is, (among
other things,) that no person who has been a member of the legislature of any State, or who has held any executive or judicial
office in any State, whether he has taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United Sates or not, and whether he was
holding such office at the commencement of the rebellion, or had held it before, and who has afterwards engaged in insurrection
or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof, is entitled to be registered or to
vote; and the words "executive or judicial office in any State" in said oath mentioned shall be construed to include all civil
offices created by law for the administration of any general law of a State, or for the administration of justice.
Sec. 7
And be it further enacted, That the time for completing the original registration provided for in said act may, in the
discretion of the commander of any district be extended to the first day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven; and
the boards of registration shall have power, and it shall be their duty, commencing fourteen days prior to any election under
said act, and upon reasonable public notice of the time and place thereof, to revise, for a period of five days, the registration
lists, and upon being satisfied that any person not entitled thereto has been registered, to strike the name of such person
from the list, and such person shall not be allowed to vote. And such board shall also, during the same period, add to such
registry the names of all persons who at that time possess the qualifications required by said act who have not been already
registered; and no person shall, at any time, be entitled to be registered or to vote by reason of any executive pardon or
amnesty for any act or thing which, without such pardon or amnesty, would disqualify him from registration or voting.
Sec. 8
And be it further enacted, That section four of said last-named act shall be construed to authorize the commanding general
named therein, whenever he shall deem it needful, to remove any member of a board of registration and to appoint another in
his stead, and to fill any vacancy in such board.
Sec. 9
And be it further enacted, That all members of said boards of registration and all persons hereafter elected or appointed
to office in said military districts, under any so-called State or municipal authority, or by detail or appointment of the
district commanders, shall be required to take and to subscribe the oath of office prescribed by law for officers of the United
States.
Sec. 10
And be it further enacted, That no district commander or member of the board of registration, or any of the officers or
appointees acting under them shall be bound in his action by any opinion of any civil officer of the United States.
Sec. 11
And be it further enacted, That all the provisions of this act and of the acts to which this is supplementary
shall be construed liberally, to the end that all intents thereof may be fully and perfectly carried out.
4. March 11, 1868
An Act supplementary to an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel states," passed
March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and to facilitate restoration. Be it enacted, &c., That before the first
day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the commanding general in each district defined by an act entitled "An
Act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven,
shall cause a registration to be made of the male citizens of the United States, twenty-one years of age and upwards, resident
in each county or parish in the State or States included in his district, which registration shall include only those persons
who are qualified to vote for delegates by the act aforesaid, and who shall have taken and subscribed the following oath or
affirmation "I, _____, do solemnly swear, (or affirm,) in the presence of Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State of
_____; that I have resided in said State for _____ months next preceding this day, and now reside in the county of _____,
or the parish of _____, in said State, (as the case may be;) that I am twenty-one years old; that I have not been disfranchised
for participation in any rebellion or civil war against the United States, nor for felony committed against the laws of any
State or of the United States; that I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any executive or judicial
office in any State and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort
to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support
the Constitution of the United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given
aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I will faithfully support the Constitution and obey the laws of the United States,
and will, to the best of my ability, encourage others so to do, so help me God;" which oath or affirmation may be administered
by any registering officer.
Sec. 2
That after the completion of the registration hereby provided for in any State, at such time and places therein as the
commanding general shall appoint and direct, of which at least thirty days' public notice shall be given, an election shall
be held of delegates to a convention for the purpose of establishing a constitution and civil government for such state loyal
to the Union, said convention in each State, except Virginia, to consist of the same number of members as the most numerous
branch of the State legislature of such State in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned among the several
districts, counties, or parishes of such State by the commanding general, giving to each representation in the ratio of voters
registered as aforesaid, as nearly as may be. The convention in Virginia shall consist of the same number of members as represented
the territory now constituting Virginia in the most numerous branch of the legislature of said State in the year eighteen
hundred and sixty, to be apportioned as aforesaid.
Sec. 3
That at said election the registered voters of each State shall vote for or against a convention to form a constitution
therefor under this act. Those voting in favor of such a convention shall have written or printed on the ballots by which
they vote for delegates, as aforesaid, the words "For a convention," and those voting against such a convention shall have
written or printed on such ballots the words "Against a convention." The person appointed to superintend said election, and
to make return of the votes given thereat, as herein provided, shall count and make return of the votes given for and against
a convention; and the commanding general to whom the same shall have been returned shall ascertain and declare the total vote
in each State for and against a convention. If a majority of the votes given on that question shall be for a convention, then
such convention shall be held as hereinafter provided; but if a majority of said votes shall be against a convention, then
no such convention shall be held under this act Provided, That such convention shall not be held unless a majority of all
such registered voters shall have voted on the question of holding such convention.
Sec. 4
That the commanding general of each district shall appoint as many boards of registration as may be necessary, consisting
of three loyal officers or persons, to make and complete the registration, superintend the election, and make return to him
of the votes, lists of voters, and of the persons elected as delegates by a plurality of the votes cast at said election;
and upon receiving said returns he shall open the same, ascertain the persons elected as delegates according to the returns
of the officers who conducted said election, and make proclamation thereof; and if a majority of the votes given on that question
shall be for a convention, the commanding general, within sixty days from the date of election, shall notify the delegates
to assemble in convention, at a time and place to be mentioned in the notification, and said convention, when organized, shall
proceed to frame a constitution and civil government according to the provisions of this act and the act to which is it supplementary;
and when the same shall have been so framed, said constitution shall be submitted by the convention for ratification to the
persons registered under the provisions of this act at an election to be conducted by the officers or persons appointed or
to be appointed by the commanding general, as hereinbefore provided, and to be held after the expiration of thirty days from
the date of notice thereof, to be given by said convention; and the returns thereof shall be made to the commanding general
of the district.
Sec. 5
That if, according to said returns, the constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the votes of the registered electors
qualified as herein specified, cast at said election, (at least one half of all the registered voters voting upon the question
of such ratification,) the president of the convention shall transmit a copy of the same, duly certified, to the President
of the United States, who shall forthwith transmit the same to Congress, if then in session, and if not in session, then immediately
upon its next assembling; and if it shall, moreover, appear to Congress that the election was one at which all the registered
and qualified electors in the State had an opportunity to vote freely and without restraint, fear, or the influence of fraud,
and if the Congress shall be satisfied that such constitution meets the approval of a majority of all the qualified electors
in the State, and if the said constitution shall be declared by Congress to be in conformity with the provisions of the act
to which this is supplementary, and the other provisions of said act shall have been complied with, and the said constitution
shall be approved by Congress, the State shall be declared entitled to representation, and Senators and Representatives shall
be admitted therefrom as therein provided.
Sec. 6
That all elections in the States mentioned in the said "Act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States,"
shall, during the operation of said act, be by ballot; and all officers making the said registration of voters and conducting
said elections shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the act
approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office" Provided, That if any
person shall knowingly and falsely take and subscribe any oath in this act prescribed, such person so offending and being
thereof duly convicted, shall be subject to the pains, penalties, and disabilities which by law are provided for the punishment
of the crime of wilful and corrupt perjury.
Sec. 7
That all expenses incurred by the several commanding generals, or by virtue of any orders issued, or appointments made,
by them, under or by virtue of this act, shall be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
Sec. 8
That the convention for each State shall prescribe the fees, salary, and compensation to be paid to all delegates and other
officers and agents herein authorized or necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this act not herein otherwise provided
for, and shall provide for the levy and collection of such taxes on the property in such State as may be necessary to pay
the same.
Sec. 9
That the word article, in the sixth section of the act to which this is supplementary, shall be construed to mean section.
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