*On this date in 1866, Congressman and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens offered real-estate compensation to Black slaves for emancipation.
This was an amendment to the Freedmen's Bureau bill authorizing public land distribution and confiscating land to freedmen and loyal refugees in forty-acre lots. The House defeated the measure by a vote of 126 to 37. A Black delegation led by Frederick Douglass called on President Johnson and urged ballots for former slaves.
The meeting ended in disagreement and controversy after President Andrew Johnson reiterated his opposition to Black suffrage.
Historic U.S. Cases 1690-1993:
An Encyclopedia New York
Copyright 1992 Garland Publishing,
New York
ISBN 0-8240-4430-4
