Radical Republicans were a political faction in the US during the Civil War and Reconstruction. They helped end slavery and give former slaves the right to vote. They opposed the Democratic Party and moderate Republicans. They were led by Charles Sumner and attempted to usurp Lincoln’s authority. Johnson became president after Lincoln’s assassination and tried to resist the extreme wing of his party. Radical Republicans were indispensable in passing provisions giving African Americans the right to vote in the South and helping to elect Ulysses S. Grant. They split over Grant’s reelection, and Democrats regained control of Congress in 1874.
During the period of US history known as the Civil War and Reconstruction, a political faction called the Radical Republicans claimed a wing of the Republican Party. From about 1854 to 1877, Radical Republicans were essential in helping to promote the end of slavery and give former slaves the right to vote. They strongly opposed the actions of the Democratic Party and the moderate section of President Abraham Lincoln’s Republicans.
The United States Congress was assumed by a Republican majority with the election of 1860. With great political power, Radical Republicans were able to leverage their faction to help lead the Union movement for the liberation of slaves . While Lincoln appointed many of them to key positions in his cabinet and diplomatic offices, a large section of the wing still opposed the delay in emancipation. Notably, US Senator Charles Sumner led the faction and helped bring about the conflict that divided the nation.
In 1864, the gap between the more moderate and extreme Republicans grew with the presidential election. Many in the party formed their candidacy under the banner of the Radical Democracy movement, proposing John C. Fremont for election. This faction imploded almost immediately, and Lincoln repositioned himself with the support of Andrew Johnson as his vice presidential candidate. Radical Republicans also attempted to usurp the president’s authority on this issue, however, with the passage of the Wade-Davis bill in both houses of Congress. This was intended to make it more difficult for Confederate states to rejoin the Union, although it was vetoed by Lincoln.
With Lincoln’s assassination, Johnson became president. Despite his association with radical Republicans, he quickly positioned himself as a moderate. Although Johnson attempted to resist the extreme wing of his party, he was nearly ousted in a Senate impeachment hearing in 1868. During this time, radical elements of the Republicans took control of Congress and essentially turned Johnson into a lame leader among American politicians.
Before the collapse of the Radical Republicans in the 1870s, they were indispensable to the passage of many provisions giving African Americans the right to vote in the South. They have also been successful in helping get Ulysses S. Grant elected to the presidency. Eventually he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1871 which gave African Americans protection against the Ku Klux Klan, among other provisions. Eventually, the faction split over Grant’s reelection, and in 1874 the Democrats regained control of Congress.
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