To what extent was President Johnson responsible for the radicalization of the Republican Party
in 1866? His actions caused reactions. Give examples.
Although the radicalization of the party was driven by a combination of reasons beyond the president, President Johnson’s decisions during the Reconstruction Era accelerated tensions within the Republican Party in 1866, causing a chain reaction that led the party towards a more radicalized stance.
The first example is the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This act granted citizenship to all individuals born in the United States, regardless of color, race or history of enslavement. President Johnson expressed his opposing feelings towards the bill, even stating that it favored other races over whites. He ultimately vetoed this bill and faced backlash from the Radical Republicans who were evidently in favor for civil rights and equality for all races. The Republicans in Congress made efforts to override his veto and marked the first time in the U.S. that Congress successfully overrode a presidential veto on a civil rights bill.
The president also attempted to gain support for his Reconstruction policies by making a sequence of appearances and speeches in the mid to late year of 1866 titled the ‘Swing Around the Circle’ tour. This was a direct means of undermining Congress but this tour of Andrew’s would serve more controversial than beneficial and contributed to the isolation from his own political party. This resistance and conflicting views to the Radical Republicans led to the first impeachment of a United States president.
In conclusion, President Johnson’s significant actions and opposing views contributed to the radicalization of the Republican Party during the Reconstruction Era. Work Cited:
Civil Rights Act of 1866
. (n.d.). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1866
Yenor, S. (n.d.). Veto of the First Reconstruction Act
. Teaching American History. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/veto-of-the-first-reconstruction-act/
Tappan, N. (2019, April 12). How Andrew Johnson’s Fiery Campaign Led To Impeachment
. HistoryNet. https://www.historynet.com/how-andrew-johnsons-fiery-campaing-led-to-
impeachment/
