In early 1867, Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Act. The plan divided the South into five military districts, each of them governed by a general supported by federal troops. The Congress also passed two acts designed to reduce Johnson's power to interfere with congressional Reconstruction. The Command of the Army Act limited his power over the army. The Tenure of Office Act barred him from firing certain federal officials without having the Senate's approval. President Johnson thought that both of these laws were unconstitutional. To prove his point, he fired one of the officials protected under the Tenure of Office Act.
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