Radical Republicans

The Radical Republicans were a faction of the Republican Party in the United States during the Reconstruction era (1865-1877). They were a group of politicians who believed that the South should be punished for their role in the Civil War, and that African Americans should be granted full citizenship and voting rights.

The Radical Republicans were led by figures such as Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner in Congress. They were responsible for pushing for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, and the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, which granted equal protection under the law and voting rights to African Americans.

The Radical Republicans were opposed by more moderate Republicans, as well as by Democrats who wanted to maintain white supremacy in the South. The Reconstruction period was marked by a fierce political struggle between these factions, and ultimately ended with the withdrawal of federal troops from the South and the imposition of Jim Crow laws, which denied African Americans their rights and freedoms.