Andrew Johnson’s Veto of the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill (1866)

Document Text

To THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES: I have examined with care the bill which originated in the Senate, and has been passed by the two Houses of Congress, to amend an act entitled “an act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, and for other purposes.” Having, with much regret, come to the conclusion that it would not be consistent with the public welfare to give my approval to the measure, I return the bill to the Senate with my objections to its becoming a law.…

I have, with Congress, the strongest desire to secure to the freedmen the full enjoyment of their freedom and their property and their entire independence and equality in making contracts for their labor. But the bill before me contains provisions which, in my opinion, are not warranted by the Constitution and are not well suited to accomplish the end in view. The bill proposes to establish by authority of Congress military jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing...