Today In Black History

In 1866, Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-Pa.) offered an amendment to Freedmen's Bureau bill authorizing the distribution of public land and confiscated land to former slaves and loyal refugees in forty acre lots. The measure was defeated in the U.S. House by a vote of 126 to 37. A black delegation, led by Frederick Douglass, called on President Andrew Johnson and urged ballots for former slaves. However, the meeting ended in disagreement and controversy after President Johnson reiterated his opposition to black suffrage. (source: Black Facts Online)