ovided that the representation of any state in Congress should be
diminished whenever it denied the franchise to any one except for taking
part in rebellion. Finally it guaranteed the debt of the United States,
and declared all debts incurred in support of rebellion null and void.
Every Southern state except Tennessee refused to accept this amendment.

[Illustration: ANDREW JOHNSON.]

[Sidenote: Elections of 1866.]

[Sidenote: Tenure of Office Act, 1867.]

[Sidenote: The Reconstruction Acts, 1867.]

[Sidenote: Process of reconstruction. _Source-Book_, 344-346.]

442. The Reconstruction Acts, 1867.--The Congressional elections of
November, 1866, were greatly in favor of the Republicans. The Republican
members of Congress felt that this showed that the North was with them
in their policy as to reconstruction. Congress met in December, 1866,
and at once set to work to carry out this policy. First of all it passed
the Tenure of Office Act to prevent Johnson dismissing Republicans from
office. Then it passed the Reconstruction Act. Johnson vetoed both of
these measures, and Congress passed them both over his veto. The
Reconstruction Act was later amended and strengthened. It will be well
to describe here the process of reconstruction in its final form. First
of all the seceded states, with the exception of Tennessee, were formed
into military districts. Each district was ruled by a military officer
who had soldiers to carry out his directions. Tennessee was not included
in this arrangement, because it had accepted the Fourteenth Amendment.
But all the other states, which had been reconstructed by Lincoln or by
Johnson, were to be reconstructed over again. The franchise was given to
all men, white or black, who had lived in any state for one
year--excepting criminals and persons who had taken part in rebellion.
This exception took the franchise away from the old rulers of the South.
These new voters could form a state constitution and elect a legislature
which should ratify the Fourteenth Amendment. When all this had been
done, Senators and Representatives from the reconstructed state might be
admitted to Congress.

[Sidenote: Charges against Johnson.]

[Sidenote: He is impeached.]

[Sidenote: But not convicted.]

443. Impeachment of Johnson, 1868.--President Johnson had vetoed
all these bills. He had declared that the Congress was a Congress of
only a part of the states, because Representatives from the states
re