The Joint Committee

President Andrew Johnson appointed the Joint Committee on Reconstruction on December 4th 1865, to determine which of the Southern states were entitled to Congressional representation.


The Joint Committee on Reconstruction was created to "inquire into the condition of the States which formed the so-called Confederate States of America, and report whether they, or any of them, are entitled to be represented in either house of Congress." This was the committee which drafted the 14th Amendment, and required the southern states to approve it before having a representative admitted to Congress. The committee of fifteen members divided into four subcommittees to gather evidence and hear testimony of the four military districts in the south. Before they finished the Committe heard from 144 witnesses. They produced a report and its proceedings were recorded in its journal.

The fifteen members of the committee were made up of nine members from the House of Representatives, Thaddeus Stevens, Elihu Washburne, Justin Morrill, John A Bingham, Roscoe Conkling, George Boutwell, Henry Blow, Henry Grider, Andrew Jackson Rogers, and six from the Senate, Reverdy Johnson, William Fessenden, Ira Harris, James W Grimes, George Henry Williams, and Jacob Howard.

Another web site to look at on this subject is Report of the Committee Joint Committee on Reconstruction

Sneaking Into Town

At six am on February 23 1861 Abraham Lincoln along with his friend Ward H Lamon and Allan Pinkerton arrived by train in Washington DC. Before this leg, Lincoln’s journey east had been very public, filled with parades, rallies and speeches. However do to concerns about his safety, and rumors of a plot to kill him when he traveled through Baltimore MD, this last train ride was made in secrecy.

After reluctantly agreeing, Lincoln and his traveling companions left Harrisburg PA after dinner on the 22nd, on a special train to Philadelphia PA. From Philadelphia they connected with a late train which arrived in Baltimore MD about four in the morning. From the there they switched trains for the one into Washington, where they were met by Illinois Representative Elihu Washburne, who took them to the Willard Hotel. Lincoln’s enemies as well as many of his supporters ridiculed his sneaking into Washington. Lincoln himself came to regret the move, feeling it wasn’t a commendable action for the leader of the republic.

Some other reading you might be interested in
History And Evidence Of The Passage Of Abraham Lincoln From Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, To Washington, D.C., On February 22-23, 1861