Suffrage in D.C.:  The District of Columbia Suffrage Bill passed the Senate on December 13, 1866, and then passed the House the next day.  The Senate overrode Johnson’s veto on January 7, 1867, and the House did the same on January 8.

Suffrage in the Federal Territories:  On January 9, 1867, the Senate passed statehood bills for Nebraska and Colorado, which included the enfranchisement of black men.  The House passed amended statehood bills on January 15, and the Senate concurred the next day.  President Johnson vetoed the statehood bill for Colorado on January 28 and the statehood bill for Nebraska on January 29. 

On January 10, 1867, Congress passed a bill prohibiting territorial governments from discriminating in civil and political rights, including voting, based on race or color.  The bill became law on January 31 without President Johnson’s signature.

Statehood Suffrage:  On February 6, Congress overrode President Johnson’s veto of the statehood bill for Nebraska, so that it entered the Union on March 1, 1867, allowing black men to vote.  The Senate failed to override the president’s veto of the Colorado statehood bill; it remained a territory until 1876. 

Black Suffrage in D.C.:  The first election in the District of Columbia to include black voters occurred in Georgetown on February 25, 1867, and resulted in victory for the Republican ticket.

Congressional Reconstruction:  The First Reconstruction Act was passed by large Republican majorities in the Senate on February 17 and in the House on February 20.  It became law on March 2, 1867, when Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson’s veto.  The law allowed black men to participate in the process of reconstructing the governments of the former Confederate states and required that the new state constitutions enfranchise black men.  It resulted in approximately 735,000 black men being registered to vote in the South. 

October 1867

Suffrage in the North:  White voters in Ohio defeated a referendum to enfranchise black men in the state.

Suffrage in the North:  White voters in Kansas and Minnesota defeated referenda to enfranchise black men in their states.

Suffrage in the North:  White voters in Michigan defeated a referendum to enfranchise black men in the state.

Republican National Convention:  Meeting in Chicago on May 20-21, General Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois was unanimously nominated for president on the first ballot.  The party’s national platform endorsed the congressional requirement that the former Confederate states enfranchise black men, but argued that the issue in the North “properly belongs to the people of those States.”

Democratic National Convention:  Meeting in New York City on July 4-7, former New York Governor Horatio Seymour was nominated for president on the 22^nd ballot.  The party’s national platform criticized Republican attempts “to secure Negro supremacy,” defined suffrage as an exclusive right of each state, and condemned federal involvement in state voting qualifications as an unconstitutional and “flagrant usurpation of power.”

Fourteenth Amendment Ratified:  Secretary of State William Henry Seward certified on July 28 that the Fourteenth Amendment had been ratified by three-quarters of the states (28 of 37) and was part of the U.S. Constitution. 

October 1868

Suffrage in the North:  White voters in Iowa passed a referendum to enfranchise black voters in their state.

National Election:  On November 3, Republican Ulysses S. Grant won the presidential election with an Electoral College majority of 214 to Democrat Horatio Seymour’s 80.  For the first time in American history over a half-million black men cast ballots.  Republicans retained control of Congress and gained two Senate seats, but Democrats picked up 11 seats in the House. 

Suffrage in the North:  White voters in Minnesota passed a referendum to enfranchise black voters in their state.