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Congressional Reconstruction
In December, 1865, when many of the Southern states came to be reintegrated into the Union, among them were former Confederates and Democrats, and most Republicans were disgusted to see their former enemies on hand to reclaim seats in Congress. -
Reconstruction Act
The Reconstruction Act of March 2, 1867 divided the South into five military zones, temporarily disfranchised tens of thousands of former Confederates, and laid down new guidelines for the readmission of states (Johnson had announced the Union restored, but Congress had not yet formally agreed on this). -
A Not-Guilty Verdict for Johnson
On May 16, 1868, Johnson was acquitted of all charges by a single vote, as seven Republican senators with consciences voted “not-guilty” (interestingly, those seven never secured a political office again afterwards). -
The Liberal Republican Revolt of 1872
By 1872, a power wave of disgust at Grant’s administration was building, despite the worst of the scandals not having been revealed yet, and reformers organized the Liberal Republican Party and nominated the dogmatic Horace Greeley. -
Depression, Deflation, and Inflation
In 1873, a paralyzing panic broke out, the Panic of 1873, caused by too many railroads and factories being formed than existing markets could bear and the over-loaning by banks to those projects. Essentially, the causes of the panic were the same old ones that’d caused recessions every 20 years that century: 1- over-speculation and 2- too-easy credit.
