A Political Manual for 1866 and 1867, of Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Politico-Military, and General Facts, from April 15, 1865, to April 1, 1867, and including the Development of the Presidential and the Congressional Plan of Reconstruction, with the Peculiarities of Each.

Important 1867 McPherson manual on Reconstruction’s presidential and congressional plans

---

Political Manual for 1866–1867 Documenting Early Reconstruction Policies

Edward McPherson’s important compendium gathering executive, legislative, judicial, military, and general facts from April 15, 1865—the day after Lincoln’s assassination—through April 1, 1867, a critical period in the contest between President Andrew Johnson and Congress over the direction of Reconstruction. McPherson, clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, compiled the manual as a reference source, providing an authoritative digest of proclamations, laws, congressional debates, military orders, and judicial opinions.

Of particular note is the juxtaposition of the presidential plan of lenient reintegration with the harsher congressional plan embodied in the Reconstruction Acts. By framing Reconstruction as a dual experiment in executive versus legislative authority, McPherson’s work documents the crystallization of Radical Republican policy and the intensifying conflict that led to Johnson’s impeachment proceedings the following year.

An important source, this copy preserved in its as-issued state.

Price: $125.00