United States House Select Committee on Reconstruction

United States House Select Committee on Reconstruction
Long title	United States House Select Committee on Reconstruction
Enacted by	the 40th United States Congress
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House of Representatives by Thaddeus Stevens (R–PA); Passed the United States House of Representatives on July 3, 1867 ;

The House Select Committee on Reconstruction was a select committee which existed the United States House of Representatives during the 40th and 41st Congresses with a focus related to the Reconstruction Acts. The 39th Congress had had a similar joint committee called the United States Congressional Joint Committee on Reconstruction.

The committee oversaw the second impeachment inquiry against Andrew Johnson.

Creation

The First Reconstruction Act had been passed March 2, 1867. On July 3, 1867, the House Select Committee on Reconstruction was created when the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution by Thaddeus Stevens which read, "Resolved that a committee of nine be appointed to inquire what further legislation, if any, is required respecting the acts of March 2, 1867, or other legislation on reconstruction, and to report by bill or otherwise.[1][2]

In introducing the legislation, Stevens stated that he had consulted with "several gentleman" as to whether the Congress should revive the Joint Committee on Reconstruction that had existed in the previous Congress, and stated that senators and Congressman John Bingham had all agreed that it was more convenient for each body of the United States Congress to appoint its own separate committees.[1]

Actions

40th Congress

Speaker Schuyler Colfax appointed the committee's initial nine members on July 5, 1867.[1][2]

During the second session of the 40th Congress, the committee submitted three reports to the House.[2] In January and February 1868, the committee oversaw the second impeachment inquiry against Andrew Johnson.[3]

On December 3, 1868 (the opening day of the third session of the 40th Congress),[1][2] the committee was directed by the House to investigate the condition of public affairs in the formerly Confederate states of Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.[2] Roughly two weeks after that, the House gave the committee authorization to issue summons for, "such witnesses to appear before them as the committee may deem necessary to enable them to report fully on the state of affairs in Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, and Texas." Later in that session, the committee printed the testimony they obtained on the conditions of affairs in those states.[2]

On December 14, 1868, the House directed the committee to investigate, "Ku Klux outrages practiced upon peaceable and law-abiding citizens of the United States in the State of Tennessee and elsewhere."[2]

On January 28, 1869, the House approved a resolution which expanded the mandate of the committee further.[2]

The third session of the 40th Congress came to a close on March 2, 1869.[2]

41st Congress

Days into the 41st Congress, on March 9, 1868, the House voted to reconstitute its Select Committee on Reconstruction with thirteen members, and have it operate under the same rules as it had in the previous Congress.[2] Speaker Theodore M. Pomeroy appointed thirteen members on March 15, 1869.[2] On March 20, 1869, the Senate created a similar committee called the United States Senate Select Committee on the Removal of Political Disabilities.[2]

The select committee issued its final report on February 20, 1871, and dissolved on the last day of session of the 41st Congress (March 2, 1871).[2]

Members

40th Congress (first session)

The following is a table of the initial members, appointed by Speaker Schuyler Colfax during the first session of the 40th Congress on July 5, 1867.[1][2]

Members of the House Select Committee on Reconstruction during the first session of the 40th United States Congress[1][2][4]
Republican Party	Democratic Party
Thadeus Stevens, Pennsylvania (committee chair) Fernando C. Beaman, Michigan John Bingham, Ohio George S. Boutwell, Massachusetts John F. Farnsworth, Illinois Calvin T. Hulburd, New York Halbert E. Paine, Wisconsin Frederick A. Pike, Maine	James Brooks, New York

40th Congress (second session)

The following is a table of the members during the second session of the 40th Congress, beginning December 3, 1867.[1]

Members of the House Select Committee on Reconstruction during the second session of the 40th United States Congress[1][4]
Republican Party	Democratic Party
Thadeus Stevens, Pennsylvania (committee chair) Fernando C. Beaman, Michigan John Bingham, Ohio George S. Boutwell, Massachusetts John F. Farnsworth, Illinois Calvin T. Hulburd, New York Halbert E. Paine, Wisconsin	James Brooks, New York James B. Beck, Kentucky

40th Congress (third session)

The following is a table of the members during the third session of the 40th Congress, beginning December 9, 1868. Former chair Thaddeus Stevens had died during the recess between sessions.[1]

Members of the House Select Committee on Reconstruction during the third session of the 40th United States Congress[1][4]
Republican Party	Democratic Party
George S. Boutwell, Massachusetts (committee chair) Fernando C. Beaman, Michigan John Bingham, Ohio John F. Farnsworth, Illinois Calvin T. Hulburd, New York Benjamin White Norris, Alabama Halbert E. Paine, Wisconsin	James Brooks, New York James B. Beck, Kentucky

41st Congress (first session)

The following is a table of the members during the first session of the 41st Congress, having been appointed by Speaker Theodore M. Pomeroy on March 15, 1869.[2]

Members of the House Select Committee on Reconstruction during the first session of the 41st United States Congress[1][2][5]
Republican Party	Democratic Party
Benjamin Butler, Massachusetts (committee chair) Fernando C. Beaman, Michigan John F. Farnsworth, Illinois George Washington Julian, Indiana William Lawrence Halbert E. Paine, Wisconsin William H. Upson, Ohio Hamilton Ward Sr., New York Benjamin Franklin Whittemore, South Carolina	James B. Beck, Kentucky George W. Morgan, Ohio Fernando Wood, New York George Washington Woodward, Pennsylvania

41st Congress (second and third sessions)

The following is a table of the members during the second and third sessions of the 41st Congress, beginning December 6, 1869 and in December 1870, respectively.[1]

Members of the House Select Committee on Reconstruction during the second and third sessions of the 41st United States Congress[1][5]
Republican Party	Democratic Party
Benjamin Butler, Massachusetts (committee chair) Fernando C. Beaman, Michigan Oliver H. Dockery, North Carolina John F. Farnsworth, Illinois George Washington Julian, Indiana William Lawrence George C. McKee, Mississippi Halbert E. Paine, Wisconsin Charles H. Porter William H. Upson, Ohio Hamilton Ward Sr., New York	James B. Beck, Kentucky George W. Morgan, Ohio Fernando Wood, New York George Washington Woodward, Pennsylvania

Aftermath

In the 42nd Congress, a new select committee called the United States House Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of the Late Insurrectionary States was created, and shortly thereafter turned into a joint committee (the United States Congressional Joint Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States). It assumed the functions that had belonged to the House Select Committee on Reconstruction during the previous two Congresses.[2]

References

Perros, George P. (1960). "PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF THE R1OC:ORDS OF THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON RECONSTRUCTIO~ 40TH AND 41ST CONGRESSES (1867-1871)". history.house.gov. The National Archives National Archives and Records Service General Services Administration. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
"U.S. House of Representatives. Select Committee on Reconstruction. 7/3/1867-3/2/1871 Organization Authority Record". catalog.archives.gov. National Archives Catelog. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
Hinds, Asher C. (4 March 1907). "HINDS' PRECEDENTS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES INCLUDING REFERENCES TO PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION, THE LAWS, AND DECISIONS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE" (PDF). United States Congress. pp. 845–847. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
"40th Congress (1867-1869) > Representatives". voteview.com. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
"40st Congress (1869-1871) > Representatives". voteview.com. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

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[1960Pre-1] Perros, George P. (1960). "PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF THE R1OC:ORDS OF THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON RECONSTRUCTIO~ 40TH AND 41ST CONGRESSES (1867-1871)". history.house.gov. The National Archives National Archives and Records Service General Services Administration. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

[NAcatelog-2] "U.S. House of Representatives. Select Committee on Reconstruction. 7/3/1867-3/2/1871 Organization Authority Record". catalog.archives.gov. National Archives Catelog. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

[hinds-3] Hinds, Asher C. (4 March 1907). "HINDS' PRECEDENTS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES INCLUDING REFERENCES TO PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION, THE LAWS, AND DECISIONS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE" (PDF). United States Congress. pp. 845–847. Retrieved 2 March 2021.

[40tha-4] "40th Congress (1867-1869) > Representatives". voteview.com. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

[41sta-5] "40st Congress (1869-1871) > Representatives". voteview.com. Retrieved 28 March 2022.