First Reconstruction Act
This page analyzes a single policy using structured scoring, historical evidence, source quality, and measurable outcomes.
Summary
Divided most former Confederate states into military districts and required new constitutions, ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, and Black male suffrage as conditions for readmission to the Union.
How to Read This Record
Impact Reading
Very high documented impact
Evidence Base
Moderate evidence from Government sources.
Data Completeness
Good record with 2 sources and 0 metrics.
Outcome Summary
The Act reset federal Reconstruction on more expansive civil-rights terms, tying Southern readmission to constitutional change and Black political participation.
Categories
Impact Scores
This score is a structured measure of how directly and materially this policy affected Black communities, weighted by evidence, durability, and equity. Harm offset reduces the total score.
Total Impact Score
37
Directness
5
How explicitly the policy targeted or affected Black communities.
Material Impact
5
The practical real-world effect on conditions, rights, or outcomes.
Evidence
5
Strength of sourcing and historical support for the assessment.
Durability
2
How lasting the effects of the policy were over time.
Equity
5
Whether the policy advanced fairness, inclusion, or equal access.
Harm Offset
0
Any offsetting harms, limitations, exclusions, or contradictory effects that reduce the total.
Scoring Notes: Transformative in immediate effect, but structurally vulnerable to later political retreat and judicial narrowing.
Metrics
No metrics added yet.
Suggested Relationships
These policies may be related based on shared categories, era, and proximity in time.
1876 • Court Case • Unknown party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Negative
Shared Categories: 3 • Year Distance: 9
1867 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 0
1870 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 3
1870 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 3
1871 • Law • Republican Party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 4
1873 • Court Case • Unknown party
Civil War and Reconstruction • Negative
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 6
1883 • Court Case • Unknown party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 16
1896 • Court Case • Unknown party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 29
Sources
Constitutional Amendments and Major Civil Rights Acts of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art & Archives • Government
Official historical data page describing the First Reconstruction Act and its conditions for readmission.
View sourcePower Struggle Over a New America
U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art & Archives • Government
Official House historical exhibit describing Andrew Johnson's resistance to Reconstruction legislation and congressional overrides.
View source