Name
Class
Date
History and Geography
Reconstruction
The Reconstruction Acts
In 1867 the Republicans passed the Reconstruction Acts. These laws
organized the southern states into five districts that were controlled
by the military. A southern state was allowed back into the Union
after it wrote a new state constitution that supported the Fourteenth
Amendment and gave African American men the right to vote.
Reconstruction Military Districts
VA
1870
NC
TN
Disputed
AR
SC
1868
1868
MS
1870
TX
1868
1866
GA
AL
1870
1868
LA
1870
1868
FL
N
1868
Gulf of Mexico
E
W
S
Military District 1
Military District 4
Military District 2
Military District 5
Military District 3
0
0
150
1868 Date former
300 Miles
150 300 Kilometers
Confederate state
was readmitted
to Union
MAP ACTIVITY
1. Use a light color to shade the southern state that was not part of a military
district.
2. Use a bright color to shade the state that was part of a military district and was
located farthest west.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
17
Reconstruction
Name
Class
Date
History and Geography
The Reconstruction Acts, continued
3. Outline the military district whose states were admitted into the Union all in the
same year.
4. In the map legend, underline the military district that made up just one state.
ANALYZING MAPS
1. Region Which military district was made up of the most states? List these states.
2. Location Which southern state on the map bordered a disputed area? In which
military district was this state located?
3. Place Which military districts included states that bordered the Gulf of Mexico?
4. Drawing Conclusions Why do you think Tennessee was the only state that was
not part of a military district?
5. Making Judgments Why do you think that the military needed to control the
southern states before they were readmitted into the Union?
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
18
Reconstruction