Tennessee Readmitted: First State Rejoins the Union
Tennessee became the first former Confederate state readmitted to the Union on July 24, 1866, just fifteen months after the war ended. The state qualified because its governor, William "Parson" Brownlow, was a fierce Unionist who had been imprisoned by the Confederacy and now imposed loyalty oaths that barred most former Confederates from voting. Tennessee ratified the 14th Amendment granting citizenship to freed slaves, the condition Congress required for readmission. Other Southern states, unwilling to accept Black citizenship, refused and were placed under military reconstruction. Tennessee's early readmission meant it avoided military governance entirely, giving it a distinct postwar trajectory from the rest of the former Confederacy.
July 24, 1866
160 years ago
Key Figures & Places
U.S. State
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Tennessee
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Reconstruction era of the United States
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Reconstruction
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Tennessee
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U.S. state
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Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
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Slavery in the United States
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American Civil War
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The monks chose a scholar who'd spent decades copying manuscripts in candlelight. Behnam Hadloyo took leadership of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Mardin in 1412…
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