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Army Appropriations Act of 1867

The Radical Republicans believed that increasing their influence within the U.S. Army was a further means of controlling the course of Reconstruction. Many of the military commanders then on duty in the South were sympathetic to Radical aims; Congress wanted to make certain that the officers would remain in their positions of power. An army appropriations measure in 1867 included a provision added by the Radicals, which required the president to issue military orders through a commanding general, a figure who could be removed only by Senate action.


President Johnson strongly objected to this curtailment of executive power, but did not veto the measure.