The events following the Civil War were controversial and are still debated today. The Civil War may have meant emancipation of the slaves, but it took a much longer process to admit them equally into the current social order. Society needed to change to cope with the influx of Blacks into the political realm. The post-war social and constitutional developments amounted to a revolution in that they created a reconstruction of Southern society through Congress" abuse of power, the changing role of the Black man in society, and the decimation of the South's current agricultural system.
Led by Charles Sumner, the Radical Republicans had taken over congress by late 1865. This Congress began implementing policies far beyond their delegated powers, even going as far as to nullify some of the President's constitutional powers! Congress took several steps to ensure that their power would not be challenged. Their first step was the 10 Year of Office Act, which took away the President's power to control his Cabinet (which was challenged by Johnson when he fired Edward Stanton, leading to his impeachment trial). The next act infringing on the President's rights was the Commander of the Military Act, which actually took away the President's right to control the military. Then they created a new South, divided into 5 military districts under marshall law. These districts were required to ratify the 13th, 14th (and eventually 15th) amendments in order to be re-admitted into the Union. In 1866 Congress even tried to restrict the abilities of the Judicial Branch (operating under Tawney) following the Ex Parte Milligan case. .
Congress did not stop there, however. With the defeat of the Confederates, all former slaves had been freed. Congress required that only those who never took arms against the United States in the war could participate in politics and vote, which ultimately meant the former black slaves (and very few whites), would be participating in the South.
