Editing Andrew Johnson (section)

==== Radical Reconstruction ====
Even with the Republican victory in November 1866, Johnson considered himself in a strong position. The [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] had not yet been ratified by enough states to go into force, with Tennessee alone among the Southern or [[Border states (American Civil War)|border states]] in voting for it. As the amendment required ratification by three-quarters of the states to become part of the Constitution, he believed the deadlock would be broken in his favor, leading to his election in 1868. Once it reconvened in December 1866, an energized Congress began passing legislation, often over a presidential veto; this included the District of Columbia voting bill. Congress admitted Nebraska to the Union over a veto, and the Republicans gained two senators and a state that promptly ratified the amendment. Johnson's veto of a bill for statehood for [[Colorado Territory]] was sustained; enough senators agreed that a district with a population of 30,000 was not yet worthy of statehood to win the day.{{Sfn|Castel|1979|pp=107–109}}

In January 1867, Congressman Stevens introduced legislation to dissolve the Southern state governments and reconstitute them into five military districts, under [[martial law]]. The states would begin again by holding constitutional conventions. African Americans could vote for or become delegates; former Confederates could not. In the legislative process, Congress added to the bill that restoration to the Union would follow the state's ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, and completion of the process of adding it to the Constitution. Johnson and the Southerners attempted a compromise, whereby the South would agree to a modified version of the amendment without the disqualification of former Confederates, and for limited black suffrage. The Republicans insisted on the full language of the amendment, and the deal fell through. Although Johnson could have pocket vetoed the [[Reconstruction Acts|First Reconstruction Act]] as it was presented to him less than ten days before the end of the Thirty-Ninth Congress, he chose to veto it directly on March 2, 1867; Congress overruled him the same day. Also on March 2, Congress passed the [[Tenure of Office Act (1867)|Tenure of Office Act]] over the President's veto, in response to statements during the Swing Around the Circle that he planned to fire Cabinet secretaries who did not agree with him. This bill, requiring Senate approval for the firing of Cabinet members during the tenure of the president who appointed them and for one month afterwards, was immediately controversial, with some senators doubting that it was constitutional or that its terms applied to Johnson, whose key Cabinet officers were Lincoln holdovers.{{Sfn|Castel|1979|pp=107–109}}